Maharashtra is gradually and systematically un-locking its economy that has been affected by COVID-19. The caution displayed by the western-Indian State is certainly understandable. The country's largest economy with Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of over $480 billion also happens to be the country's leading State in number of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

However, this has not allowed the State government has used this as an opportunity to display its defer its investment prowess or delay and fast track potential investment plans from global and domestic players. Not only has MIDC and the State government extended immense support to existing industries during lockdown but also rolled out the red carpet for investors in mid-June in the presence of the Chief Minister and the Industries Minister of the State. This has been followed up by a second MoU signing event under the leadership of the Hon'ble Chief Minister on the 2nd November, 2020. In totality, this has resulted in Maharashtra signing investment intentions in excess of Rs 52,000 crore with many Indian and foreign companies as well as strategic bilateral partnership agreements with key country corridor partners, such as World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) to mobilise larger discussions. These investments represent sectors as diverse as automobile, data centers,  logistics, banking, engineering and mobile production and include countries, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, South Korea
and Singapore.

The significant investment commitments were clinched under the State government's impressive Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 initiative, which is a surgically-crafted strategy to attract players that are considering diversifying their investment locations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on global supply chains. Incidentally, the first Magnetic Maharashtra summit, organised in Mumbai in 2018, had attracted more than Rs 5,00,000 crore of investment proposals into the State with potential to generate over 70,00,000 jobs. Today, these investment proposals have seen more than 60 per cent of the proposals fructify under the current State government's focus to expedite investment timelines in less than two years, and this momentum is set to continue.

The global investment community's bullish promises have further strengthened Maharashtra's reputation as the country's most-favoured, investment destination. Between October 2019 and March 2020, the State - which makes up roughly 14 per cent of the country's GDP - attracted the highest level of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, contributing about 30 per cent of the total FDI inflow into the country. Moreover, at $47.6 billion, the State accounted for 23.5 per cent of the country's total exports in 2019-20.

Investors appear to have reposed faith in the inherent strengths of the State and continue to pour billions of dollars into the State's industries and enterprises. Besides, the State government's progressive, pro-business policies have for a long time put Maharashtra prominently on the country's industrial map. The efficient and supportive role played by MIDC, the nodal agency for industrial development and investment promotion, has helped the State emerge as the country's leading business destination. Targeted sector offerings have been developed by MIDC for key sectors such as Electronics, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Food Processing, IT/ITeS and in the coming months we hope to execute many more reforms that will compliment the investment plans we see here today.

Maharashtra's Edge

Over the years, Maharashtra's industrial ecosystem has attracted investors from far and wide. The State scores very well in terms of social, physical and industrial infrastructure. Its 18 airports and two major and 53 minor ports along a vast coastline of 720 km have been facilitating inter- and intra-regional trade. Besides its excellent road and rail networks - national highways of more than 22,000 km run across the State and two major railway zones (Central and Western Railways) - connect enterprises and industries to domestic and international markets.

Adding heft to the western State's infrastructural superiority is the Maharashtra government's host of policies. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Industrial Policy, 2019 is further enhancing the robust, industrial and investment ecosystem across the State. The policy aims at attracting investments of $140 billion, generating employment opportunities for 40 lakh people, attaining manufacturing sector growth rate of 12 to 13 per cent to take its share in the GSDP to 25 per cent by 2023-24. The policy has also set an ambitious target of achieving $1-trillion economy by 2025, which would make Maharashtra India's first trillion-dollar sub-national entity.

Tracking the execution of the industrial policy, the Maharashtra government has taken definitive measures to promote industries, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), through public funding, fiscal incentives, cluster-based manufacturing approach and institutional support. The policy has lined up various fiscal-support measures, such as Stamp Duty and Electricity Duty exemption and power tariff subsidy.

There is also fiscal assistance for attracting high-technology and employment-generating units and mega projects and for setting up industrial parks, including food parks. Besides, a number of non-fiscal incentives - like skill development, single-window clearance system, investor facilitation and creation of land bank and growth centres, among others - attempt to hand-hold industries to set up their bases in the State.

An interesting feature of the industrial policy is focus on thrust sectors - like electric vehicles (EVs), aerospace and defence, textile, biotechnology, medical devices, logistics and warehousing, food processing, information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS), electronic systems design and manufacturing (ESDM), semiconductor fabrication (FAB) and industry 4.0 (encompassing artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing, internet of things, robotics, nanotechnology) and other major sectors. The State government is also developing 25, integrated, multi-modal, logistics parks and 100 logistics parks. With its electric vehicles policy, Maharashtra is setting up EV clusters to boost EV manufacturing and become a pioneer in the field.

MIDC is today India's premiere infrastructure development and investment promotion agency. Set up in 1962, MIDC has been playing a vital role in catalysing investments into the State. The corporation acts as a crucial link between the government and investors. It provides essential business infrastructure to investors , such as land, roads, water supply, drainage facilities and street-lights. MIDC has been at the forefront of massive industrialisation unfolding across Maharashtra.

To provide a more enabling environment for businesses, the Maharashtra government has unveiled a number of measures to improve ease of doing business (EoDB) in the State. In June, amid the COVID-19 crisis, the government unfurled Maha Parwana, a mega, online, single-window system to fast-track permission for industries, on the basis of which industries will get deemed approvals from MAITRI (Maharashtra Industry, Trade and Investment Facilitation Cell) portal within 48 hours. With many path-breaking initiatives, Maharashtra seems to have geared up for a post-pandemic world. The government and MIDC are scripting a new success story to drive rapid industrialisation and economic growth in the State.