Rajasthan to have second Japanese industrial zone

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Rajasthan is soon going to have a second special Japanese industrial zone that will focus on sectors such as ceramics and electronic systems design and manufacturing.

Announcing this in Tokyo at an investors' meet, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in a statement said: "After success of the first Japanese zone in Neemrana, the state government will now develop a second industrial investment zone in Ghiloth on nearly 500 acres of land. This zone will soon become a hub for the ceramics and ESDM industries."

Rajasthan is one of the only states in the country to have a special Japanese Investment Zone in Neemrana in Alwar district of the state, over 130 km from state capital Jaipur.

Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Ltd (RIICO) has earmarked 1,167 acres of land at Neemrana for the Japanese zone and so far more than 45 Japanese companies, including Daikin, Nissin Brake, Mytex Polymer and Nippon Pipe, among others have invested Rs.4,200 crore in the zone.

Raje reached Japan on April 6 and will be there till April 10. During these five days, she will hold roadshows for the Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit which will be held in Jaipur in November 2015.

The summit, to be held in Jaipur on November 19 and 20 will have strategic conferences, panel discussions, round-table deliberations, presentations and one-on-one business meetings. It will bring together investors from all over the world for interacting with policy makers, including the political leadership, government officials and, local business leaders on the investment environment and opportunities in Rajasthan.

Talking about the first Japanese zone in Neemrana area, Raje said that public utility status has been granted to the area for a period of three years to ensure that factories located in the area have protection from labour strikes.

"Besides this, the government has also decided to reduce Central Sales Tax (CST) from 2.00 percent to 0.25 percent on sale of goods manufactured by the units in the two Japanese industrial areas till March 31, 2016 or till the introduction of the proposed unified Goods and Services Tax, whichever is earlier," she said in a statement.

Raje also held meetings with top executives from leading companies, which included SoftBank, Toshiba, Koyo Holdings and Yazaki.

On Tuesday, she paid a courtesy call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his office in Tokyo and requested that Japan become a partner country for the upcoming Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit.