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State-level reforms key to NRI investment
The CMs of Andhra, Bihar, Gujarat, J&K, Kerala and Maharashtra were a picture of poise at a PBD interactive session, writes Sajjan Singh Thakur.
Social scientist Barbara Wootton may have believed otherwise - "whenever there are six economists, there are seven opinions" - but when the six businessmen (read CMs) met to sell their states, the exchange of bonhomie and banter at a PBD session on Saturday gave a lie to the fact - many men many minds.
While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar -- a study in contrast, after a FICCI report put their states on the top and at the bottom respectively -- spoke in chaste Hindi, trying to woo NRIs to invest in their states, the other speakers, including the newly sworn J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad, seemed to concur with the view that 'united we stand, divided we fall'.
And the common message was - we are not here to criticise, but to work in tandem, as aptly put by Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, after Modi went a little overboard in saying "Gujarat is way ahead, could be compared with not Maharashtra or Goa but with Germany and Japan".
The CMs of Andhra, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Maharashtra, so different in style and hues (read party affiliations) were a picture of poise at the interactive session of states, chaired by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission held at International Convention Centre. Leaders of Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal also participated.
While Azad sought investment in hotels, tourism, resorts, adventure and leisure sports, amusement parks, golf courses, ropeways in "one of the most beautiful parts in the world" ("the investments will be eligible for incentives"), "the investor-friendly state" of Andhra boasted of single point clearance, AP.INVEST, 'first contact point' for NRIs and foreign investors. The State Investment Promotion Board meets under the chairmanship of the chief minister and provides all clearance for mega projects, YSR Reddy added.
Apart from upgrading the existing airport at Visakhapatnam, the Government is planning to promote an International Airport in between Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli, as part of the development of the coastal corridor. Other infrastructure facilities like roads, hospitals, and hotels are also being promoted in the coastal corridor. The SEZ at Kakinada is being promoted in the public-private partnership by ONGC and ILFS. Similarly, the SEZ at Visakhapatnam is being developed in the private sector, he said.
A new port with the state-of-the-art facilities in collaboration with the Jablali Port of Dubai is being promoted at Gangavaram, in the private sector, at a distance of 5 kms from Visakhapatnam, he said.
The International Airport at Hyderabad, implemented in public-private partnership, is going to be the biggest in the country and is likely to become operational from the year 2008. Many initiatives have been taken for Hyderabad's infrastructure revamp, he added.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy did some concrete talk. "It's high time that we evolve a skill upgradation programme for all the unskilled workers going abroad. This must be made mandatory. Nobody should be allowed to leave the Indian shores without getting proper training. In Kerala, we have initiated a training programmes for nurses, housemaids and drivers," Chandy said.
He also came down heavily on the illegal recruiting agents. "The Emigration Act needs more teeth to deal with these criminals. We have taken the initiative to suggest amendments to the Act," he said, adding, "Let us also think about forming a corpus fund to meet emergencies like accidents and repatriation charges."
Kerala already has emergency repatriation fund and 'santwana' fund for meeting other exigencies, modelled after CM's Distress Relief Fund. He also spoke of affordable travel facilities to "our people living abroad".
Kerala, incidentally, is the home to the largest number of Indians working abroad. Kerala was the first state to set up separate department and ministry for the welfare of the NRIs, Chandy added, and announced a number of initiatives for making "Kerala an investor-friendly state".
While FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra stated that 70 per cent of foreign companies are making profits in their Indian operations as compared to 35-40 per cent in China providing a great scope for Foreign Direct Investment in the country, Ahluwalia stated that "in order for India to progress as a nation it is imperative that growth rates are spread evenly across states and rising income penetrate rural areas".
Parting note: Watching all CMs, including those representing the most backward as well the most developed states, working for common purposes (build India), NRIs must be recalling Pt Nehru's words - Who lives if India dies.
