Maharashtra seals Rs34,850-cr deals to bring in jobs

The Maharashtra government on Monday signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with 15 national and international firms, which are expected to bring investment of

The Maharashtra government on Monday signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with 15 national and international firms, which are expected to bring investment of ₹34,850 crore to the state and create 23,182 job opportunities.

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Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said the state has set a target of bringing in investment of ₹1 lakh crore. “This is just a beginning. We have to bring investment of over ₹1 lakh crore in the near future. Of this, investment of ₹35,000 crore is happening today. Maharashtra will come out strong from the pandemic crisis,” said Thackeray at the event where MoUs were signed by representatives of firms and senior state officials. “Today’s signing of MoUs indicates unity in diversity. Firms related to chemicals, data centres, logistics and manufacturing sector are eager to invest here. Maharashtra is going to become an important destination for data centres as well,” he said.

The firms that signed MoUs are Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt Limited, Mantra Data Centres, ESR India Investment Holdings. Adani Enterprises Ltd, Malpani Warehousing & Industrial Park, Netmagic Solutions IT Services Pvt Limited, Bright Sino Holdings Pvt Limited, STT Global Data Centres India Pvt Limited, Oriental Aromatic, Data Center Holdings India LLP, Evermint Logistics, Pareba Logistics Park, Ishvara Logistics Park, Princeton Digital Group, Nxtra Data Ltd.

In June, the state government had signed MoUs worth around ₹17,000 with 12 firms while inaugurating Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0, a second instalment of the February 2018 global investors summit. Thackeray said 60% of the companies had completed the necessary steps and some plots have also been allotted. Others are expected to be allotted land soon. “Investors coming to Maharashtra even when pandemic was at peak shows that they trust the state government and vice versa,” said Thackeray.

State industries minister Subhash Desai said, “Maharashtra has been at the forefront when it comes to investment. Even during the pandemic, firms from various countries chose to come to the state. We will again prove that Maharashtra is the most preferred destination for investment in the country.”

MoUs with Chinese firms on hold

The state government on Monday clarified that MoUs worth over ₹5,000 crore, inked with three Chinese firms in June, are on hold as the Centre is yet to announced its policy on investment from China. The firms are Hengli (₹250 crore), Great Wall Motors (₹3,770 crore) and PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, a joint venture with Foton (₹ 1,000 crore).

“The MoUs are still on hold and have not been scrapped. There has been no development on the issue as of now. The Central government had told us to wait for further instructions and we are waiting for Centre’s policy on the matter. Till then, we will not be taking any decision,” Desai told HT.

The three Chinese firms are among the 12 with which the state signed MoUs in June. At around the same time, skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops broke out in Ladakh. Following this, the state put the MoUs on hold and sought direction from the Centre.