Ahmedabad, Aug 12 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh received investment proposals worth Rs 8,635 crore during a mega investment dialogue with Gujarat’s industrial sector in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, with the proposed projects expected to generate 5,785 employment opportunities across sectors, including cement, packaging, food processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering, chemicals, aerospace and defence.
The investment commitments came as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav held discussions with more than 500 industrialists, investors and corporate representatives from Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Vadodara.
The Ahmedabad outreach was also aimed at encouraging Gujarat-based businesses to participate in Madhya Pradesh’s Global Investors Summit-2027.
The meeting had been announced ahead of the event as part of Madhya Pradesh’s effort to attract investment from Gujarat’s established industrial base.
Chief Minister Yadav said that Madhya Pradesh offered opportunities for setting up new industries, expanding existing units and extending businesses, and assured investors of government support.
“For running an industry, what is primarily needed is a sound policy, good intentions and a supportive government. You will find all three in Madhya Pradesh,” he added.
Inviting Gujarat’s industrial sector to the 2027 Global Investors Summit in Bhopal, Chief Minister Yadav said: “You have the experience and we have the opportunities. If your experience comes together with our opportunities, we will create history together.”
He also urged investors to invest in Madhya Pradesh “without any hesitation and with an open heart” and become part of the state’s development journey.
The Chief Minister said investors did not need to worry about electricity, water or land in Madhya Pradesh.
“Industrial land is available on lease at concessional rates, the state had adequate water resources and surplus power, and plug-and-play industrial zones were being developed. Forty-eight new industrial parks are being developed across nearly 19,000 acres,” he noted.
He said the state’s single-window system provided solutions to investment-related obstacles through a single digital platform.
Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Yadav added, had more than five lakh km of road network, rail connectivity, eight airports, six inland container depots, expressways and highways, besides a trained and skilled workforce.
Seeking to underline the scope for industrial cooperation between the two states, the Chief Minister described Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat as “twin brothers”.
“Gujarat had technological, commercial and industrial experience, while Madhya Pradesh offered abundant water, a land bank and a central location that provided a logistics advantage,” he said.
He added that Gujarat’s petrochemical, chemical, textile, pharmaceutical, food processing and automobile industries had significant opportunities in Madhya Pradesh.
He pointed to the petrochemical refinery at Bina, the medical device park being developed over 360 acres in Ujjain, PM MITRA parks and the established automobile base at Pithampur as areas that could support greater industrial cooperation.
According to the Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh had received investment proposals worth more than Rs 34 lakh crore over the past two-and-a-half years, with more than Rs 10 lakh crore of investment having already been grounded.
Renewable energy, pumped hydro and biomass policies had also facilitated investment, with proposals worth Rs 7.19 lakh crore received in these sectors.
Chief Minister Yadav also linked the two states through the Narmada, saying Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were like “two sons of Maa Narmada”.
He said the river was providing drinking and irrigation water to both states and referred to the Sardar Sarovar project as an example of cooperation between them.
“Gujarat had a long association with Madhya Pradesh, including through the freedom movement, and referred to the contributions of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,” he added.
The Chief Minister said coordination between the two states was increasing and that the Centre had provided guidance for cooperation, including in relation to the Sardar Sarovar project.
He added that greater cooperation in industry, trade and other sectors could benefit both states.
“The state government had implemented policies aimed at industrial development, particularly in renewable energy. Madhya Pradesh had surplus electricity, with power from the state also being used to run metro trains in Delhi. The state had among the lowest electricity rates in the country,” he noted.
He added that the state government had paid investment promotion incentives due up to the previous month to large industries and MSME units and had cleared the backlog of subsidies.
The Chief Minister also highlighted opportunities in tourism, IT and food processing and said the Madhya Pradesh government was working towards metropolitan development around Indore-Ujjain and Bhopal.
Principal Secretary (Science and Technology), M Selvendran said Madhya Pradesh had significant potential in the IT sector.
“Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur offered comparatively affordable, world-class facilities and that the cost of living was lower than in several major technology centres,” he added.
He noted that a major IT company had more than 16,000 staff at its Indore unit, while another major technology company was planning expansion in the state.
“The government is also working on a Space Tech Park and developing drone manufacturing infrastructure and a green zone for drone testing in Bhopal,” he said.
Selvendran said the state’s Space Tech Policy provided capital subsidies ranging from 40 to 60 per cent and that the semiconductor policy had received a positive response.
“The government is also providing support towards rent and staff salaries for industrial establishments,” he added.
More than 15 one-to-one meetings were held between Chief Minister Yadav and representatives of major industrial groups during the dialogue.
Discussions covered investment proposals, industrial expansion and sector-specific opportunities.
Among the proposals discussed were a Rs 1,200 crore investment in a PM MITRA Park in the textile and garment sector and a proposed 1,600 MW thermal power project in Anuppur.
The latter discussions covered long-term energy security, additional generation capacity and future investment opportunities in the energy sector.
The investment proposals announced at the dialogue included Rs 3,000 crore in the cement sector, expected to create 1,500 jobs; Rs 2,500 crore in packaging, with 1,000 jobs; and Rs 1,200 crore in food processing, with 500 jobs.
A further Rs 500 crore was proposed in pharmaceuticals, with 800 jobs; Rs 250 crore in textiles, with 400 jobs; Rs 250 crore in engineering, with 300 jobs; Rs 200 crore in chemicals, with 100 jobs; and another Rs 200 crore in packaging, with 100 jobs.
Additional proposals included Rs 160 crore in textiles, expected to create 600 jobs; Rs 150 crore in engineering products and systems, with 160 jobs; Rs 100 crore in aerospace and defence, with 120 jobs; Rs 50 crore in food processing, with 80 jobs; Rs 50 crore in chemicals, with 75 jobs; and Rs 25 crore in chemicals, with 50 jobs.
–IANS
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