Maha's new industrial policy

Maharashtra’s much-delayed industrial policy will finally be presented to the state cabinet for approval in the last week of April. This policy envisages an investment of over Rs. 5-lakh crore and generation of over 20 lakh new jobs in the state. The five-year policy is expected to give a boost, mainly to small and medium enterprises and will encourage investors to set up industries and other facilities across the state, where growth has been slower. Sources say that VAT and stamp duty concessions for investors will continue in this policy effective for the next five years. One of the main reasons why the introduction of this industrial policy was delayed for over a year was because of differences between ministries over providing concessions and introducing some reservations on state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation plots from small and medium enterprises. Sources in the chief minister’s office confirmed that after prolonged discussions these differences have been finally ironed out and the new policy is ready to be rolled out. It will be presented to the cabinet anytime after April 20. The earlier policy was announced in 2006 and it ended on March 31, 2011. The state government has been working on the draft new policy for over a year now. Speaking about the new policy, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “The new industrial policy will give priority to providing aftercare services to investors who want to set up facilities in any part of the state. The focus will be on generating employment and reducing regional imbalance. The manufacturing sector provides more employment than any other sector in the state. So, the policy will encourage that sector.” Industries minister Narayan Rane said, “The state has been a top priority destination for most domestic and foreign investors. In the past five years, we have been able to attract investors like Volkswagen and General Motors to the state. We have studied what other states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are offering and we are sure our industrial policy will be more attractive to investors.” A senior official in the ministry of industries said that the policy will continue to provide concessions introduced in the earlier industrial policy of providing refund on VAT, some relief on stamp duty and electricity duty. The government is also serious about giving a direct subsidy. Asked about why special economic zones (SEZs) in the state have not received good response as expected, the official said that most SEZ proposals were export-oriented and they are at a standstill because of a worldwide slowdown. The government has accepted in the state assembly that the biggest hurdle in setting up large manufacturing plants in the state is nonavailability of land. The policy will include some suggestions on land acquisition in Maharashtra. The state has already launched a programme to acquire around 55,000 hectares of land.