MII: Desai says to ensure 80% of Rs 8-tn MoUs actually flow in

Amid questions being raised about credibility of huge investment commitments made during the Make in India Week, Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai today said his ministry is committed to translating at least 75-80 per cent of them into actual investments.
"We are aware of the fact that most of the times when MoUs are signed, they remain on paper. It isn't easy to convert all commitments into actual investments. At times it requires making changes in policies or bringing in reforms.
"But our government is committed to getting at least 75-80 per cent of these MoUs converted into reality," Desai told an event organised by industry lobby CII here.

Opposition parties, led by the NCP, on Thursday had claimed that 15 per cent of the investments announced at the Make-in-India week were "fake" and also questioned an MoU signed by Maharashtra for affordable housing.
Furnishing the MoU signed between Maharashtra and housing body MCHI-Credai during the summit, NCP leader Nawab Malik had said the pact to develop 5.69 lakh affordable houses valued at Rs 1.10 trillion in the Mumbai region was "fake" as a similar MoU was signed during Congress-NCP rule in 2010.
During the much-touted 'Make-in-India week held last month here, the state had claimed to have signed MoUs to the tune of around Rs 8 trillion across sectors and regions including the backward areas of Marathwada and Vidarbha.

The event organiser DIPP under the Central government has claimed the total commitment notched up Rs 15 trillion.

Many analyses have proved that the average conversion of investment proposals into actual investments are only 6-8 per cent across many states over the years.
Many have even been questioning the huge footfall (over 8 lakh through the summit) saying the actual numbers of visitors were actually not even a quarter of the official numbers.
When asked about the criticism received for allegedly
quoting inflated numbers of investment, Desai said, "if we had to quote inflated numbers we would have announced Rs 12 trillion of commitments.

"In fact, we had received proposals worth Rs 12 trillion but we only announced Rs 8 trillion worth of MoUs because these were the ones which were scrutinised and approved by authorities concerned."
Desai further said the government is taking various initiatives like bringing down the number of approvals required to set up a project to 25 from the current 75.
When asked about the higher electricity tariff rates in the state, Desai said, "We are aware of the fact and we are also working towards ensuring that quality power is made available to industries at affordable rates."
Last week the government announced Rs 2,000 crore worth infrastructure projects in the MIDC area to enable industries to set up their businesses there.