Maharashtra charts mission to regain industrial pre-eminence

Once bitten twice shy. Maharashtra, in a serious bid to regain the state’s pre-eminence in attracting investments and win back the faith of investors, plans to launch a massive exercise: Investor Aftercare.

While the government can even today take pride in its industrial prowess and achievements, the investors in recent years are not that comfortable about doing business in the state. Today, the regime aims to address the issues and concerns. As a beginning, it would partner with Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC), an independent policy think tank, in organising a conference next month to discuss Investor-After Care.

The plan to convene such a conclave on October 20 comes at a time when the existing investors in the fields of power, manufacturing, engineering, automobile and textile among othes have alleged that the government was neglecting their issues.

Inconsistency in policies has been a major cause of concern the industry representatives expressed during recent meetings with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and at a separate interaction with officials from different departments.

Moreover, Maharashtra has cut a sorry figure after the neighbouring Gujarat attracted major investments from Tata Motors, Ford and Maruti. Besides, the government is currently engaged in the formulation of a new industrial and investment policy to consolidate its investor-savvy position.

A senior government official, who did not want to be identified, said investors had brought to the government’s notice their concerns about poor infrastructure, issues involved in land acquisition, constraints in the availability of skilled human resources and delays in completion of several procedures. “The Investor Aftercare campaign will focus on addressing these issues and increasing their comfort level for doing business in Maharashtra,” he told Business Standard.

The state’s chief secretary is coordinating various departments and agencies personally in order to fast-track the redressal of issues raised by investors.

MEDC feels it is necessary to address the legitimate concerns of investors in Maharashtra, holistically, instead of adopting a piecemeal approach. The proposed conference will be a significant step in this direction, its executive director C S Deshpande said.

The conference will facilitate a meaningful and solution-oriented dialogue between the investors and policy-makers on the critical issues affecting the business environment in Maharashtra. “MEDC has always recommended to the government to benchmark Maharashtra’s capabilities and facilities with the best in the world — be they infrastructure, education or the laws and rules governing business,” he added.