The Make in India Week, which is concluding on Thursday, has seen huge investments and interesting initiatives like Monsanto and PepsiCo showing interest in setting up a 'seed hub' and facilities to mix fruit juice in aerated drinks respectively, in the state of Maharashtra.
Further, the state is also likely to see the setting up of Project Orange Unnati for a juice manufacturing facility to support farmers growing oranges in Vidarbha. Emphasis was laid on this project on the first day.
Earlier, in his inaugural speech, prime minister Narendra Modi had said, “We are working aggressively towards making India a global manufacturing hub. We want the share of manufacturing in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to go up to 25 per cent in the near future.”
“We have carried out a number of corrections on the taxation front. We have said that we will not resort to retrospective taxation. We have laid all- round emphasis on Ease of Doing Business. In the manufacturing sector, we have taken decisive steps to simplify processes and rationalise provisions,” said Modi, while speaking on the policy fronts and steps undertaken to attract foreign investors to Make in India.
Modi also mentioned some of the growth indicators, he said, “India has elevated its position by 12 ranks in ease of doing business as per World Bank and India has jumped 16 places on the World Economic Forum’s global competitive index.”
With regard to Project Orange Unnati, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed among Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Jain Irrigation Pvt. Ltd and department of agriculture and marketing, Government of Maharashtra.
The project intends to give higher value to orange growers and generate gainful employment. It is expected to benefit 5,000 farmers with an average landholding of two acres each.
Later, commenting on the project, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Project Orange Unnati intends to give higher value to orange growers and generate gainful employment in Vidarbha. Project Orange Unnati will also unlock prospects of leveraging brand Nagpur Orange Growers Association (NOGA), a Government of Maharashtra subsidiary.”
Fadnavis held several discussions with representatives from Germany, Sweden, the New Zealand, Bangladesh and Korea at the event.
After inauguration, Modi held bilateral talks with prime ministers of Sweden and Finland and deputy prime minister of Poland. In his discussions with Polish representatives, he sought cooperation in the areas of food processing, clean energy and transportation sectors.
Discussing with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven, Modi lauded Sweden as a significant participant in the Make in India initiative. He invited companies from Sweden and Finland to forge partnerships.
Extending Polish ties
“There is a huge potential for India and Poland to enhance exports and trade in areas such as agriculture equipment, food processing, clean environment technologies, furniture manufacturing, deep mining, defence and automotive,” said Prof. Poitr Glinski, deputy prime minister, Poland.
Indicating that Poland is on the verge of reforming its economic policies, tax regulations, raise the investment ratio by 30 per cent, encourage MSMEs, innovation and research and development, the deputy prime minister showed interest in exploring the potential for Indian and Polish companies to collaborate and enhance prospects of economic cooperation.
Radoslaw Domagalski Labedzkiu, deputy minister for new export policy, Poland said, “The key priority for Poland is to venture into new markets, enhance the level of innovation, exports, and improve efficiency of public administration especially for the overseas investors. Commending the efforts of the Indian government, he acknowledged that the Make in India Week is a significant platform to facilitate B2B interaction, improve investment related knowledge and is a great move to leap ahead.”
A release issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said, “Ajay Bisaria, ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania, stated, “The Make in India Week resonates India’s transformation for a New Growth Story based on friendly-investment policy, sub-national level of investments and a long- term model for sustained growth.” He added that the goal for joint commission between India and Poland was to reach a trade of US$5 billion and up the level of exports by 20 per cent.
Odisha Investors’ Meet
Debi Prasad Mishra, industries minister, Government of Odisha, said that the state has witnessed political stability during the past one-and-a-half decades, and is emerging now as the manufacturing hub of the east coast of India. Exuding confidence in Odisha Industrial Development Plan 2025, he said that the implementation of its recommendations should help catapult growth to a higher trajectory. Further he launched eBiz Online Platform, which provides 14 kinds of approvals online, and enables interaction between investors and the department concerned. This G2B online portal eases the clearance process, thereby easing the process of doing business in the state.
ITC Ltd announced in the Orissa development meet that it will invest around Rs 800 crore in the state of Orissa. The investment will be for development of a hotel and food processing park. Meanwhile, various states have managed to attract huge investments on second day of the Make in India week.
