At Make in India Week, Chief Minister says Maharashtra contributed 15 per cent to the national GDP, has the highest exports.

ost Maharashtra emerged as the first beneficiary of the ambitious Make in India Week on the inaugural day on Saturday by signing three key MoUs with total investment of over Rs 21,400 crore.

The first MoU, signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was with Sterlite Group company Twinstar Display Technologies and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to set up an LCD manufacturing plant, known as Panel FAB, in technical collaboration with Taiwanese company Autron. The project entails investment of Rs 20,000 crore. The location of the plant will be decided shortly.

The second MoU was signed between Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, Jain Irrigation and State Agriculture and Marketing department for setting up a juice manufacturing facility to process oranges. Located in Vidarbha, the project intends to give higher value to orange growers. This investment of 600 crore, will benefit around 20,000 farmers, generating employment opportunities for over 500 people. The plant is expected to generate employment in Vidarbha, which has reported farmer suicides due to drought-induced agrarian crisis.

The third MoU was signed between Raymond Industries and MIDC as part of “Farm to Fabric” initiative for the textile sector. Raymond plans to invest Rs 1,400 crore for manufacturing of linen yarn and fabric and garment business. The facility will be set up in Nandgaon Textile Park in Amravati district in Vidarbha, and will procure cotton from the farmers in the district.

Announcing the deals at the ceremony, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision behind Make in India and credited him for changing the mindset of States. “We have moved from co-operative federalism to competitive federalism with a fair competition between different States, which will in all probability end up complementing each other,” he said.

Mr Fadnavis said Maharashtra continued to remain an industrial powerhouse with latest Assocham report also rating the State as the best investment destination. “Maharashtra contributed 15 per cent to the national GDP, has the highest exports, and highest FDI inflows. With Make in India, Make in Maharashtra initiative has also started,” he said.

He said that following the 340-points charter conceived by Make in India, Maharashtra has brought down the number of permissions required for setting up an industry by 60 per cent, and for setting up a hospitality business by 7 per cent. “Once upon a time, building proposals of the construction sector used to take 365 days to get all clearances. Now, we have brought it down to 60 days. Investors no longer need to run from pillar to post, and will require to fill up a single form electronically to secure all requisite permissions within a time frame,” he said.

PM Modi said his government had carried out several corrections in the taxation regime. “We have said we will not resort to retrospective taxation. We are swiftly working towards making our tax regime transparent, stable and predictable.” He said his government had take steps to simplify processes and rationalise provisions for the manufacturing sector including licensing, security and environmental clearances.