Kolkata: Maharashtra, economically the most powerful state in the country, has inked MoUs worth Rs 30 lakh crore at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos,
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said. According to him, if these investments fructify thy have te potential to generate about 40 lakh jobs in a wide range of sectors from industries to services and agriculture to technology. Reports said the Fadnavis indicated that more MoUs are expected on the table in the couple of months since initial talks are going on for projects worth Rs 7-10 lakh crore.
Maharashtra signed MoUs with companies such as SBGI, Brookfield, Arcelor Mittal, Finman Global, Issar, Skoda Auto, Volkswagen, STT Telemedia, Tata, Adani, Reliance, JBL, Coca-Cola, Bosch, Capital Land and Iron Mountain. The most significant point is, 83% of the MoUs pertain to FDI or Foreign Direct Investment, while 16% is in the form of technical partnership in financial institutions which will basically substitute imports. The FDIs are from countries such as the US, UK, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, UAE, Spain, Canada and Belgium.
75% strike rate
Usually most MoUs don’t see the light of the day. But Maharashtra chief minister said that 75% of last year’s MoUs have fructified. Fadnavis is of the opinion that these MoUs can fructified in three to seven years. The MoUs are in the fields of AI, data centers, quantum computing, Global Capability Centres, healthcare, food processing, steel, urban development, shipbuilding, fintech, logistics etc.
Disaggregating the proposed investments in terms of geographical spread, Fadnavis said, as much as 22% of the MoUs pertained to MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) and Konkan while 13% was directed towards Vidarbha. The districts of Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule and Ahilyanagar,which are in the north of the state have investment proposals of Rs 50,000 crore and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Marathwada region accounted for Rs 55,000 crore.
A few of the MoUs have been struck with University of Berkeley, University of California, Stanford University’s Stanford Biodesign, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and JBIC (Japan Bank of International Cooperation).
First innovation city
The Maharashtra CM said that detailed planning for the country’s first innovation city will be done in the next six to eight months. The Tata group is setting it up near Mumbai. This project is an outcome of discussions with Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran. The discussions took place in Davos in 2025. It is a project that has pulled in investors from abroad and the Tatas are expected to pump in Rs 1 lakh crore in it.
Processing waste
Fadnavis said the government wants to process all types of waste generated in the urban process. They are also desirous of building a circular economy in Mumbai to address issues such as air and water pollution. He hoped that results o these efforts could be visible in about three years.
