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We are on top, we'll set up another B-school in Bombay, vows Maharashtra CM

Chief Minister Manohar Joshi said that Maharashtra continues to top the states in the country in industrial Investment. It attracted Rs 1.25 trillion worth of investments between 1991 and 1998 and has been the most favoured destination for foreign direct investment which was of the order of Rs 203.89 billion during the period.

At his weekly media briefing in Bombay, Joshi quoted the latest survey report on industrial estates carried out by Colliers Jardine, the well-known international consultancy firm, which said Maharashtra with its best infrastructural facilities continued to be the ideal and most favoured destination for investment.

About the selection of Hyderabad for setting up the Indian School of Business, Joshi expressed his resentment that the corporate sponsors did not inform the state government even though the latter had fulfilled all the requirements including allotment of a suitable land worth Rs 150 million in New Bombay.

This, the corporate luminaries did in spite of the state government's decision not to insist on reservation of ten per seats for Maharashtra students in the institute.

He said the ISB was not the only school in the world to provide education in business management and said the state government would explore the possiblity of setting up a similar institution by some other internationally renowned academic organisation.

Joshi sought to dispel the impression that Maharashtra had lost its premier position in industrial investment due to the reported shift in investments to Gujarat and southern states. He said that reports of this nature published in a section of the press and similar statements of Opposition leaders were incorrect and totally misleading.

In support of his assertion, he circulated statistics on the number of industrial entrepreneurs memoranda, letters of intent and export oriented units which he said were the criterion for judging the industrial growth of a state.

Joshi said that during the period from August 1991 to May 1998, Maharashtra received 5,819 IEMs involving total investments of the order of Rs 1.07 trillion, 465 LoIs for projects involving investment totalling 113.74 billion and 497 EOU proposals involving total investment of Rs 62.53 billion. Besides the state also attracted 1,122 FDI proposals.

These would create a total of 1.15 million jobs in the state, he said.

Joshi further disclosed that the state continued to be well ahead of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa in terms of industrial investments. However, he said the number of IEM proposals was slightly higher in Gujarat at Rs 1.18 trillion only because it included many new proposals of petroleum and chemical industries.

He said Maharasthra otherwise surpassed the investment in Gujarat and it would be manifold more if it too allowed chemical industries. He said the state was, however, very careful and cautious in the matter of allowing chemical industries as it was committed to prevention of pollution in the state.

Joshi said according to the latest survey of the United States embassy, US investment in Maharashtra would be highest compared to other states in the country with an investment of the order of $ 3.5 billion in the next five years, which would be 67 per cent of the total US investment in the country.

He said the industrial development of the state had gained tremendous momentum in the state after the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government came to power in 1995. The alliance government had achieved a record performance during the period in the field of creating infrastructure facilities, land acquisition for development of industrial estates, including five star industrial estates, as part of its efforts to accelerate the pace of industrial growth by creating investment in a friendly environment.

The coalition government had achieved just in last three years what could not be achieved by the previous governments in the last 33 years, he said, adding that the progress achieved by his government was enviable and had made everybody proud in the state.

Joshi pointed out that Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation had acquired 34,183 hectares of land as part of developing industrial estates in the last 33 years of which 17,362 hectares were acquired in just three years after the alliance government came to power. The amount spent on land acquisition during the three-year period was to the tune of Rs 1.25 billion compared to only 1.04 billion during the 33-year period of previous governments.

He said the alliance government implemented projects like the Golden Small Scale Industries Scheme, five star industrial estates and set up a number of information technology parks. It also launched several infrastructural projects making Maharashtra most ideal and favoured destination for investment.

Replying to a question he disagreed with the Indian Merchants Chamber that investment had slowed down due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He said compared to other states, law and order was still the best in Maharashtra.

Joshi said even a recent survey published in Business India had described Maharashtra as the most favoured destination for investment, including FDI. Except suggesting the need for reducing the labour and energy cost, the magazine was all praise for the state and its achievements in the field of industrial investment.

When his attention was drawn to the concern expressed by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray over the state slipping to the fourth place among states, yesterday, while speaking at the IMC's 92nd anniversary function, the chief minister said perhaps the Sena chief did not have complete information and felt it was necessary to offer him complete and latest information on the industrial investment scenario.

He said he will ask his industries minister to do so. Replying to a question he, however, did not feel the inadequate information available to Thackeray was due to a lapse on the government's part.

UNI