Rajasthan poised to become a leading economy in India: Vasundhara Raje

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday said that her government is committed to making the state a business-friendly one, and added that it has taken several steps in that direction.

Addressing a special plenary session of The Partnership Summit in Jaipur here, Raje spoke of a slew of measures undertaken in areas such as policy, infrastructure, labour among others.

She said the state government is committed to simplifying and rationalizing regulations and laws, and especially mentioned the Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme launched in 2014, and the reforms in labour laws, as measures that would boost investments.

In fact, the state government's move to reform labour laws is seen as a step worth emulating by other states also.

As testimony to the state's attractiveness as an investment destination, Raje spoke of JCB, Saint Gobain and Honda as three multinationals which have huge investments in the state.

She further informed that the Koreans have also expressed interest in investing in the state, and Rajasthan will soon engage with the Bombay Stock Exchange to set up a centre to impart training in financial skills.

Earlier, Industries Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar spoke of the locational and other advantages that the state offers such as abundant land; proximity to New Delhi; the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor passing through the state; abundant labour; ample power; diversity of products - textiles, cement, glass, agro-based products, leather goods and geographical and cultural richness which offers huge tourism potential.

He mentioned that the state has already initiated several reforms in laws and regulations and is working on a new industrial policy to further facilitate investments.

He said that with the CM emphasizing skill development, Rajasthan will be one of the few states to offer abundant skilled labour, good infrastructure and regulations and laws that promote ease of doing business.

He made a specific mention of the Rajasthan Solar Policy and the announcement of building 20,000 kms of mega highways that will be like a shot in the arm to boost industry.

Elaborating on investment opportunities in Rajasthan, Veenu Gupta, Prinicpal Secretary - Industries, said Rajasthan offers the basics required for industrial development - infrastructure, labour, land, educational institutions which produce quality manpower.

She mentioned how RIICO encourages investments and provides industrial infrastructure, especially for sector-specific industrial areas such as IT Parks.

Rajasthan, she said, is the first state to have a country-specific zone (Japan) with more countries evincing interest in this.

Among sectors with good investment potential, she mentioned automotive; ceramic and glass; IT; ESDM; Solar; Defence; Urban Centres and Tourism. She mentioned that the State Government is looking at PPP as an excellent model to realize the potential that Rajasthan offers.

Amitabh Kant, Secretary, DIPP, said the key challenge for India today is to find ways to accelerate growth rate to 9/10 per cent over an extended period of time, which can be achieved with the active participation of states.

He said Rajasthan is focused on reforms and enhancing ease of doing business.