Investments worth Rs 6.89 lakh cr pledged at Indore summit: Chouhan

India Inc and public sector enterprises have pledged investments worth Rs 6.89 lakh crore in MP during the Global Investors Summit that concluded in Indore on Friday, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

India Inc and public sector enterprises have pledged investments worth Rs 6.89 lakh crore in Madhya Pradesh during the fourth edition of Global Investors Summit that concluded in Indore on Friday, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

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An elated Chouhan told the media that the government has received 3,165 investment proposals worth Rs 4.36 lakh crore from investors who registered on the official website.

Also investments to the tune of Rs 1.53 lakh crore were announced during the summit, while an additional investment of Rs 1 lakh crore has been announced by Union chemicals and fertilizer minister Ananth Kumar.

Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra announced an investment proposal of Rs 50,000 crore in different sectors and expressed interest in developing five existing cities as smart cities.

The union government plans to invest Rs 22,000 crore through BORL that owns and operates Bina refinery. Other investments by public sector enterprises include Rs 12,000 crore for setting up of a fertilizer unit, Rs 13,500 crore by SAIL for steel and iron plant and Rs 28,000 for mining by NMDC and NALCO.

Union minister for chemicals and fertilizers Ananth Kumar who addressed the summit on Friday also announced an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore for setting up a petrochemical investment region in and around Bina in Madhya Pradesh.

Power and coal minister Piyush Goel said his ministry will invest Rs 20,000-Rs 22,000 crore over the next few years in renewable energy sector in the state and also announced additional investments by NTPC in thermal power plants.

The state government will now follow up on the investment proposals and depute an official as investment manager to facilitate the projects and obtain necessary permissions.

Madhya Pradesh is the country’s fastest growing state with some of its best infrastructure but private investment has not kept pace.

Chouhan has been following on the heels of states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to promote a pro-business climate in a bid to coax investment in Madhya Pradesh.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said foreign investments worth $100 billion are knocking at the doors of India and called for stronger Centre-state relations to capitalise on the opportunity.

Modi said states can contribute in a big way in nation building by picking up the Centre's programmes and contributing to those in their own way.

He cited the example of Madhya Pradesh which has announced concessions for assimilation and production of defence products.