Maharashtra has signed 2,560 MoUs worth Rs 6.11 lakh crore for private investment in the last 16 months, of which 23 have been signed during the ongoing Make in India week, state principal secretary Apurva Chandra said on Monday. These investments are expected to flow in over a period of five years and create 1.6 million jobs in the state.

Out of the total 2,560 MoUs, 2,097 are from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), the backbone of the state’s economy. “These involve an investment commitment of Rs 1.22 trillion and will create more than 1,16,000 jobs in Maharashtra’s semi-urban and rural areas, Chandra said. He added, “The MoUs also represent diverse sectors ranging from IT to integrated textile parks to retail to mining to electronic to tourism. They tell the story of Maharashtra’s industrial diversity.”

Five new policies introduced

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced five new policies in the areas of retail, electronics, single window, ports and SC/ST, terming manufacturing as key for the state's growth. He promised his government’s commitment to ease of doing business. Fadnavis said that 50 percent of employment in Maharashtra still comes from agriculture, which contributes only 11 percent to the state’s GDP. He observed said that this sector was not going to provide employment opportunities, something which would come from the manufacturing sector.

“One of the biggest shortcomings of the state was that infrastructure growth had not kept pace with industrial growth. This was one of the key issues this government was working on,” he said.

Nirmala Sitharaman, union minister of state for commerce and industry, said that while Maharashtra continues to remain at the top in terms of investment, it seems to have lost some vigour over the past few years.