Trade groups gives suggestions for Rising Rajasthan investor summit

Trade groups and industry chambers have given suggestions for Rising Rajasthan, an investor summit that will be held in Jaipur from December 9 to 11.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the summit. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Deputy CMs Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa and Industries Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will hold road shows in India, the United Kingdom and Japan to seek investments in the state.

The summit was formally announced on August 1 and the state government said it had till August 16 received memoranda of understanding (MoU) committing investments worth more than Rs 5.40 trillion.

This is where the trade groups and chambers express their worry. The previous Ashok Gehlot government organised a similar programme– Invest Rajasthan 2022 Summit – in Jaipur.

The All Rajasthan Trade and Industry Association (ARTIA) said 4,192 MoU and letters of intent worth Rs 10 trillion were signed at Invest Rajasthan 2022. Not even 10 per cent of those investment proposals were carried through, it said.

“We want this event to be successful, not like what we had in 2022,” said Kailash Sharma, senior vice-president, ARTIA.

The state government should improve infrastructure, implement the single window clearance system in all subdivision headquarters and decide administrative permissions within a month to attract investments.

Prem Biyani, ARTIA's executive president, said the government must put up records of vacant land on the internet and at subdivision officer offices. “Land with industrial potential should be identified. Four-lane road connectivity should be developed from the nearby national highway to this land,” he said.

Suresh Agarwal, president of Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry president, said frequent power cuts are a problem for industries. “The government should encourage investment in the energy sector in a big way.”

The state has an estimated solar energy potential of 142 gigawatt and the government has set up a target to produce 30 GW of solar power by next year.