Maharashtra cabinet approves 7 industrial projects worth ₹81,137 crore

Maharashtra govt approves 7 industrial projects worth ₹81,137 crore, creating 20,000 jobs ahead of assembly polls; focus on electric vehicles, semiconductor chips.

Mumbai: Two months ahead of the assembly polls, the Maharashtra government has approved seven big-ticket industrial projects expected to bring investments worth ₹81,137 crore and create around 20,000 jobs. A cabinet sub-committee on industries headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde granted the approval on Tuesday.

HT Image

The projects include seven mega and ultra-mega industries in sectors such as lithium batteries, electric vehicles, semiconductor chips, and fruit pulp production, with substantial investments planned for regions including Konkan, Marathwada and Vidarbha.

Among the biggest green-lit projects was JSW Green Mobility, which will be the state’s first ultra-mega electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing unit, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The company, a subsidiary of the JSW Group conglomerate, has offered to invest ₹27,200 crore and aims to generate over 5,200 job opportunities. The unit plans to produce 500,000 electric passenger cars and 100,000 commercial cars annually.

Another JSW Group subsidiary that got the nod was JSW Energy PSP Eleven, which has proposed to set up a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Nagpur worth ₹25,000 crore. The project is expected to generate more than 5,000 jobs.

The cabinet sub-committee also approved Avaada Electro’s integrated solar and photovoltaic modules and electrolyser project to be established at Butibori in Nagpur and MIDC Bhoparpara in Panvel. It will involve an investment of ₹13,647 crore and is expected to create over 8,000 employment opportunities.

RRP Electronics Limited will establish an integrated semiconductor chip manufacturing project in Taloja in Raigad district. This will be the state’s first semiconductor manufacturing project, with an initial investment of ₹12,000 crore, and is expected to create over 4,000 jobs. In the second phase, another project will be set up at Mahape, Navi Mumbai. The operation is expected to start on a trial basis by September 2024.

The list of projects also comprises a mega project for liquor production at Butibori MIDC in Nagpur. Drinks company Pernod Ricard India will invest ₹1,785 crore to establish the project. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages will set up another mega project—a plant for fruit pulp and juice production in Ratnagiri, for which it has agreed to invest ₹1,500 crore.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi criticising the ruling Mahayuti government for Maharashtra losing out on big-ticket projects to other states.