Maharashtra to announce new industrial policy today

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SME Times News Bureau | 03 Jan, 2013
Maharashtra will announce its new industrial policy Thursday, which aims to consolidate its numero uno position among industrialised states in the country, a minister said. The state hopes to attract investments worth Rs.5 lakh crore.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that after a lot of debate and fruitful discussions, the new industrial policy was finally approved Wednesday.

Industry Minister Narayan Rane, while declining to reveal details, said it would be officially announced here Thursday.

According to official sources, among other things, the state hopes to attract domestic and foreign investments of a staggering Rs.5 lakh crore over the next few years.

Besides creating new industrial zones in different parts of the state, it would also help generate over two million jobs for people across various sectors and prevent migration.

The development comes in the wake of several major industries either ignoring or moving out of Maharashtra on account of various reasons, including erratic power supply, water shortages and saturation levels preventing further industrialisation in some parts of the state.

Recently, Chavan made the stunning revelation that 85 percent of all investments and industries were based in just five of the 35 districts of the state while other regions were left high and dry.

The districts are Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Pune and Nagpur, and these could not support further industrialisation, Chavan pointed out.

Nationalist Congress Party chief and union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar went a step ahead and sought a ban on any more industries in Pune and its surroundings as there is no water supply to serve further industrialisation.

Both urged that industries and investments must be diverted to other parts of the state, including the backward eastern, northern and Marathwada regions, to enable balanced growth and development and help business and employment all over the state.