Maharashtra signs MoUs worth ₹61,042 crore with 25 national firms

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with 25 national firms that will bring in investments worth ₹61,042 crore and create

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with 25 national firms that will bring in investments worth ₹61,042 crore and create over 2.53 lakh job opportunities in the state.

This year, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government has has managed to bring in investment of over ₹1 lakh crore. (HT Photo)

The firms are mostly from steel manufacturing, information technology parks, logistics, chemicals, renewable energy and battery manufacturing sectors.

With this, the state has managed to bring in investment of over ₹1 lakh crore in this year, a target set by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray, said state industries minister Subhash Desai at the MoU event.

In November, the state government signed MoUs worth ₹34,850 crore with 15 national and international firms.

Earlier, in June it had signed MoUs worth ₹16,300 crore with 12 major companies, while inaugurating Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 – the second instalment of the global investors’ summit, held in February 2018.

CM Uddhav Thackeray and Desai used the event as an opportunity to take veiled potshots at Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Yogi Adityanath over his recent Mumbai visit to attract investment for the state.

Yogi Adityanath had recently faced a lot of flak for allegedly making attempts to lure the Hindi film industry to UP.

“Some people come to make investments here, and some people come to take investments from here. However, this is not easy, as investors in the state and we [government] have a relationship almost like a family. Nobody would like to go from Maharashtra to other states. We would be there together with you [investors] at every step of the way,” Thackeray said.

Desai also highlighted how the state was now appointing relationship managers for each investment project who would facilitate and liaison with government officials for various clearances till the entire project is realised.

The biggest investment deal signed was with JSW Steel that is planning to expand its existing plant at Dolvi in Raigad district to the country’s largest steel plant, to a capacity of 14 MPTA (million tonne per annum) with an investment of ₹20,000 crore.

Another steel manufacturer, Kirtikumar Steel Udyog, has proposed a ₹7,000 crore plant at Wada in Thane. Indian Corporation Logistics plans to make an investment of ₹11,049 crore at Bhiwandi in Thane, Inspira Infra Limited will invest ₹7,500 crore at a plant in Aurangabad, K Raheja will invest ₹7,500 crore in the IT industry at Thane, and Exide batteries is planning to invest ₹500 crore in a plant at Phaltan in Satara.