Maharashtra invites foreign investors with conducive business environment and ready availability of infrastructure says Mr. Gagrani

“Maharashtra is the second largest province of India. It is home to Mumbai – the economic and commercial capital of the nation. Maharashtra is the favoured investment destination of the country with conducive business environment and ready availability of land, power, water, connectivity and skilled labour. We invite domestic and foreign investors to invest in the rapidly growing state of the nation. MIDC promises to support investors willing to set up base in Maharashtra,” said Mr. Bhushan Gagrani, I.A.S, CEO, MIDC during the second day deliberations of the Global Economic Summit on Asia: Powering Global Markets jointly organised by World Trade Centre Mumbai and All India Association of Industries.

Mr. Gagrani stressed that the National Manufacturing Zone – Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor which is coming up in three areas of Maharashtra and is the final node of the Dighi Port Industrial town will enhance the industrialization process of the state of Maharashtra.

Further, Prof. Usha Haley, Professor of Management, West Virginia University addressed the huge deficit of major trading economies with that of China.

Over the past five years the Chinese economy has moved from being a net importer to net exporter and a large manufacturer. The journey has been marked by distorted subsidies by the Chinese Government, state capitalism marked by state ownership and management of enterprises & personnel and huge regulatory control over financial institutes. The private capital to government capital ratio is very low in China with the Government being the largest consumer of the economy. Although the country depicts no technological advantage its huge progress lies in very low labour costs, free or low cost loans, subsidized energy and availability of raw materials, land and technology at subsided rates. The same has ensured low cost massive production adding excess capacity every time.

Ms. NilaKanthi Ford, Director, Europe and Asia, KFV Consulting and Vice Chairperson for the Ireland –India Business Association enlightened the audience on the need for country specific policy frameworks. Emerging economies fail to have conducive policy frameworks. Policy frameworks need to be tailor made for every economy given institutional differences in them.

For example, the Indian economy shows disputes amongst Central Government policy decisions with that of the state Governments. A centralized policy decisions will do good for emerging economies. Also, emerging economies comprise of family oriented businesses where innovation is hierarchical which needs to be noted while designing their policy framework. Lastly, government agencies display great deal of interest in the functioning of the emerging economies with subsidies and incentives. This is known to drive down competition. Competition forms an essential part of growth and development and must be encouraged.

Ms. Ford enumerated on the policy framework of the economy of Ireland. The economy boosts of transparent and speedy governance. It encourages foreign investments along with easy access to capital with low interest rates and availability of infrastructure and power which may serve as learning lessons for developing nations.

Outlining the policy framework of India Mr. Ashish Kumar Chauhan, CEO & M.D, Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd said that India is home to a large demographic base with a productive work force. But policy decisions are incorrectly based on past experiences in India. The large bureaucratic set up of India is a huge hindrance to its progress. The key policy decisions for India to prosper lies in understanding the future and promoting newer areas of growth such as information technology, 3 D printing, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, etc. Also, the SMEs form the back bone of the economy generating more jobs than large MNCs which need to be developed with favourable policies.

Elaborating further on the state of affairs of the Indian economy Mr. Milind Kothari, Managing Partner & Head – Direct Tax, BDO India LLP said that the last five years witnessed a freeze in policy decisions by the Indian Government coupled with lack of availability of infrastructure such as land, water, power, etc. Projects had been stalled for many years due to indecisiveness of the Government. However, with the formation of the new Government the Indian economy has depicted pick up in investments. The initiatives of the Modi Government such as “Make in India”, the “Dhan Yojana”, “Smart cities” along with cohesive industrial policy and simplification of business regulation has put India back on the global map. India has witnessed huge inflow of foreign funds. However, India faces competition from the growing economies Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia in remaining the preferred destination of foreign investors. For the same the economy needs to demonstrate sustainable inflation, stable governance, strong legal framework and sound tax architecture.

Earlier, in his opening remarks Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Centre and President, All India Association of Industries said that the 4^th edition of the GES on “Asia: Powering Global Markets” aims to connect Asia to the globe. The Asian continent is an economic power house comprising of rich natural resources and skilled manpower with huge consumer base. However, we need to address the shortcomings in the form of lack of updated technology, under developed infrastructural status and sparse capital funds.

Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice-Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Centre proposed the vote of thanks.