NEW DELHI: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday appealed to industrialists and investors to actively consider setting up of manufacturing units outside the thickly populated urban centres, rather establish them along the upcoming economic corridors and new greenfield expressways.“Everyone has been interested in setting up units in Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai, Bengaluru and in all other big cities. We need to diversify from making investment only in urban areas to rural areas for sustainability. Industrial clusters can come up along economic corridors. We will coordinate with states to see how all necessary approvals can be obtained quickly,” Gadkari said during a web-based interaction with overseas Indian students studying in 45 foreign universities.Gadkari said after winning the war against Corona, India will need to tide over the economic crisis. “We need to attract maximum foreign direct investment (FDI) and pave way for foreign investment. The whole world is criticizing China. That’s a blessing in disguise for us,” the minister said.He added that his MSME ministry will soon designate a joint secretary to deal with tasks to facilitate foreign investment and coordinate with states. “Our focus will be to see that the process of foreign investment does not take more than three months,” Gadkari said.The minister has been interacting with officials of his departments, industry leaders, investors and students since the lockdown was announced. An official statement from his Nagpur office claimed that he has interacted with at least one crore people from various walks of life via video conferencing and other online platforms till now.Backing the government decision for lockdown to put a check on the spread of coronavirus , Gadkari said even while fighting against the pandemic, the government is taking necessary measures to allow industrial and economic activities.