MAHARASHTRA, once known as the Detroit of India, had lost its No.1 position to Tamil Nadu in the matter of attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) from multinational auto companies. But now, several players in the automobile industry have decided to expand base in the State. Bajaj Auto, General Motors, Bharat Forge, JCB and Mahindra & Mahindra have collectively proposed to invest around Rs.7,000 crores, and the investment will go up to Rs.15,000 crores over the next nine years.
What has the government done or propose to do that will make Maharashtra a lucrative base for multinationals? For starters, it has identified four important cities (Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad) for intensive development. As far as auto and auto-related industries are concerned, Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik are part of the auto cluster project promoted by the Central government. Hence, each of these cities will have similar infrastructure such as a centralised research and development (R&D) laboratory, a convention centre and a raw material bank (a centralised channel for collection, distribution, and common price structuring of raw materials) to promote trade in a more efficient manner.
Besides this, the government has decided to provide excellent logistics and infrastructure to connect these four cities. The proposal is under way for a four-lane speedway, which is most likely to be expanded to a six-lane one.
Mumbai will provide services in the field of brand promotion, marketing and financial services. Pune has always been known as the educational hub of the State; through its rich source of intellectual property, it will cater to IT, bio-technology and other educational services. Aurangabad's and Nashik's forte lie in the component manufacturing industry.
While various projects are under consideration to enhance business in the domestic market, certain steps are being undertaken to ensure that exports play an instrumental role for each and every company. In a holistic move, the government has come up with a port development policy. Rewas-Aware, Dighi, Wadhawan, Redi, Vijaydurg and Jaigad have been identified as potential sites for ports. But the major challenge lies in growing and retaining intellectual property for the auto industry. With the IT industry being more rewarding than the auto industry, the latter is not finding it easy to get skilled personnel. The new investment proposals made by the auto companies will generate around 15,000-odd jobs. To generate that kind of intellectual property, the government intends to tie up with technical institutions in these cities.
Mayur N. ShahCOMMents
COMMents
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