Maharashtra govt signs MoUs worth over ₹48K cr with auto, steel firms

Maharashtra signs ₹48,000-crore investment MoUs for Vidarbha, with Mahindra's ₹15,000-crore Nagpur plant anchoring the push to build an auto and steel hub

The government of Maharashtra signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth over Rs 48,000 crore with different companies across sectors, including automobile and steel, for investments in the Vidarbha region of the state.

 

The MoUs were signed at Advantage Vidarbha – Khasdar Audyogik Mahotsav 2026, organised by the Association of Industrial Development, in Nagpur, in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways, and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

 

The biggest MoU was signed by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) to invest Rs 15,000 crore, with a major focus on setting up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nagpur.

   

The new Nagpur facility will expand on M&M’s existing tractor plant in the region and will cater to the company’s full range of automotive products, including electric and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, as well as tractors for both domestic and export markets.

 

Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and chief executive officer (auto and farm sector), said: “We are in the phase of expanding ourselves, and no better place to expand it than the Vidarbha region.”

 

Jejurikar added that M&M has had a significant presence in Maharashtra over the years, with investments of Rs 33,000 crore in the state over the last 15 years.

 

Apart from M&M, enMotive, a German electric commercial vehicle maker, also signed an MoU to invest Rs 3,200 crore, bringing giga casting technology to Nagpur, which is expected to benefit the three-wheeler electric vehicle segment. Super Smelters, a steel firm, also signed an MoU to invest over Rs 10,000 crore.

 

While projecting Nagpur as a logistics and automotive hub, Gadkari emphasised developing Gadchiroli, a neighbouring, heavily forest-covered district in Vidarbha, as a steel hub.

 

Gadkari stated that Jamshedpur’s iron ore is of 55 grade, and Gadchiroli’s iron ore is of 65 grade, which means that it is proven to be the best in the world.

 

An industry executive stated that there are 10 steel plants in the pipeline for Gadchiroli, including one by Tata Steel.

 

Fadnavis added that the government will be acquiring about 5,000 acres of land in Nagpur to develop it as a manufacturing and industrial hub. He informed that of the Rs 30 trillion of investments brought from the World Economic Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, for the state, about Rs 3.75 trillion will be invested in Vidarbha.