A ten -member entourage, headed by Rajasthan chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, left for America on Wednesday to attract investors at a conference organized by Rajasthani Association of North America( RANA).

The timing of the tour and other details amke it look a re-run of a similar jaunt, organized by Gehlot towards the end of his first term in office in 2003.

On the eve of his departure then , he had announced a new industrial and investment policy, modelled on an earlier 1998 policy and carried tons of publicity materials, prepared by the bureau of investment promotion (BIP) to showcase Rajasthan as investment destination in the US. Since then, such promotion of the state through exotic tours and mixing it with entertainment had acquired been given an official slant .It is a strange coincidence that July 4,the US independce day always figures in chief minister’s itinerary of foreign tours.

Gehlot is now carrying with him another new industrial policy, released just a day before his departure for the RANA meeting, promising hassle-free investment through single window system and easy availability of land. But what is strikingly similar between the two tours is July 4, independence day, the celebration time in America when frenzy reaches its peak. Those who had participated in their first tour of RANA recollect it with fond memories till date.

However, the investment scenario in Rajasthan has not really looked up as a result of such visits. The only notable investment which the state has received so far is because of push for land in the National capital regions comprising Alwar district and the adjoining areas near Gurgaon.

The Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor dominates about 45 per cent of its space in Rajasthan, promising huge future investment in different “nodes” in the state. The RANA platform may well be utilized by the entourage to push investment which has so far proved elusive.