Madhya Pradesh's investment hopes ride on Modi wings

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the fourth Global Investors Summit on Thursday has injected business circles in Madhya Pradesh with new buoyancy as hopes rise that some of India’s top industrialists would see it as a signal to invest heavily in the state.

Modi’s name has drawn industry bigwigs such as Mukesh Ambani and Tata Group chief Cyrus Mistry to the summit for the first time, triggering hopes in the government of a flood of investments coming to the state.

"Modiji’s name carries expectation all over country. He is such a big leader that his presence itself will give a boost to our morale and lift the confidence of investors in Madhya Pradesh," chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told Hindustan Times on the side lines of the meet.

Besides Ambani and Mistry, Anil Ambani, Adani Group head Gautam Adani, Essar Group's Shashi Ruia, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Adi Godrej, L&T's A M Nayak, retailer Future Group chief executive Kishore Biyani, ITC Chairman YC Deveshvar and DCM Shriram Ltd head Ajay Shriram, will also be attending the meet.

The three-day meet, which began on Wednesday with a session on small and medium enterprises, will end on Friday with a valedictory session featuring union commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman, I&B and environment minister Prakash Javadekar and labour and steel minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Although there is little expectation of any ‘big’ announcement from Modi, there is a new enthusiasm in both the government and industry in the state. Madhya Pradesh is already the fastest growing state in the country with its economy expanding at a little more than 11% last year.

"The PM’s presence is sure to create an interest among investors. He is a man of vision and is known for his development works. And I am sure he will galvanise the investors once he talks on his development theme," said Hemant Mehtani, president of Association of Industry, Madhya Pradesh.

On its part, the state government claims to have created a land bank of 25,000 hectares for setting up of industries.

"We are just showcasing the state and sincere efforts to develop Madhya Pradesh as one of the top ranking states of India in terms of socio-economic development," Chouhan said.

The state had already received investments worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore in the last two years, said the CM.