MP will play vital role in India’s developmental journey, says PM at GIS

Rephrasing the iconic tagline of Madhya Pradesh (MP) tourism, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Wednesday said “MP ajab bhi hai, ghazab bhi aur sajag bhi” when it came to attracting investment. He said the state would play a pivotal role in the development journey of India.

Inaugurating the seventh edition of the two-day Invest MP Global Investors Summit (GIS) in Indore, Modi said with multiple global institutions reposing immense faith in the country, the coming century will be of India’s.

“India is receiving record foreign direct investment (FDI). This is due to democracy, demography, and a stable political climate,” Modi told the industry titans who were present in the state’s commercial capital.

Painting an optimistic picture, he said the path of reform, transform, and perform — undertaken since 2014 — never stopped even when the world was in the pandemic’s vice-like grip.

The PM called upon industrialists to take advantage of the production-linked incentive schemes, particularly for pharmaceutical and textile.

Modi said that the green hydrogen mission is aimed at attracting investment of at least Rs 8 trillion over the next few years.

He said the national single window system had given over 50,000 clearances in the past few months, of which substantial approvals had been granted for MP’s projects.

Modi cited examples of reforms related to recapitalisation and governance in the banking sector, creating a modern resolution framework like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, creating a system like One Nation One Tax in the form of goods and services tax, making corporate tax globally competitive, exempting sovereign wealth funds and pension funds from tax, and allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in many sectors.

He further added that labour laws had been incorporated into four codes.

Highlighting the modern and multimodal infrastructural developments in the nation that have given rise to investment possibilities, the PM said that the speed of construction of the national highways had jumped twofold in eight years.

The PM also touched upon digital infrastructure, stating that new opportunities are being created for every industry and consumer with the help of 5G, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. He said this would only accelerate the pace of development in India.

Addressing delegates, MP Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan said 10 partner countries — Guyana, Suriname, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Panama, and Fiji — have joined the GIS, along with Ambassadors and Consulate Generals from 33 countries and business delegates from 84 countries.

He said there was a time when MP was a bimaru (sick) state. Today, its growth rate is 19.76 per cent —the highest in the country and is “ready to run like a cheetah”.

Earlier the contribution of the state to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 3.6 per cent. This has since increased to 4.6 per cent.

The state’s total GDP was Rs 1 trillion. It has since crossed Rs 12 trillion.

The per capita income, which was once Rs 13,000, has increased to Rs 1.37 trillion. Chouhan said the target is to make MP a $550-billion economy by 2026-27.

“We have enough land for industries. There is a land bank of 200,000 acres. Investors can be given land in 24 hours. Moreover, MP has an installed capacity of 25,800 megawatt of electricity,” the CM said.

Lauding the state’s investment-friendly climate, Godrej Appliances associate vice-president said GIS is a great initiative and that investment-friendly policies of MP will only help it to grow faster than other states.