CII has welcomed the announcement of the New Industrial Policy for the
State. The Industry has been eagerly awaiting the new policy since the last
five-year industrial policy was announced in November 2006. Unlike the
previous policy that aimed to attract investment from big industrial houses,
it is heartening to note that the new policy targets micro, small and medium
(MSME) firms and aims at an investment of Rs. 5 lakh crores and employment
generation for 20 lakh people.
Worldwide, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been accepted as
the engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development. MSMEs
constitute over 90% of total enterprises in most of the economies and are
credited with generating the highest rates of employment growth and account
for a major share of industrial production and exports. In India too, the
MSMEs play a pivotal role in the overall industrial economy of the country.
MSMEs in India account for more than 80% of the total number of industrial
enterprises and produce over 8000 value-added products.
According to Mr Pradeep Bhargava, Chairman, CII WR and Director, Cummins
Generator Technologies India Ltd one of the main stays of the policy is
creation of integral industrial townships and the SEZ Exit plan which
envisages release of de-notified SEZ land which is proposed to converted
into integrated industrial townships. He said that “this is addresses one of
the most crucial issues of land availability for industry. And we are happy
that the Chief Minister has stuck to his commitment that he had made at a
recent interaction with CII Members on creation of new economic hubs and
special township projects”.
Mr R Mukundan, Dy Chairman, CII WR and Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd
added that the State Government has sent the right signal by announcing that
it will set aside 60,000 acres of land for setting up industries. This will
give a positive impetus for the growth of the industry in the State and also
check the outward flow of investments from the State.
Mr Satish Jamdar, Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and Managing
Director, Blue Star Ltd, appreciated the aim of this policy to boost the
growth of the industrial production sector to 11-12 percent every year. It
endeavours to increase the share of the industrial sector in the GSDP from
18 to 28 percent. He also complimented the State Government for offering
special rebates, waivers in electricity & stamp duty and relaxation in VAT
for units planning to set up shops in under-developed areas of Marathwada,
Vidarbha and tribal districts. These steps will bolster development in these
areas and will pave the way for more industries to consider setting up
establishments in the near future.
Mr Ninad Karpe, Vice Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council and Managing
Director & CEO, Aptech Ltd said that connectivity issues that have been
addressed in the new policy are certainly welcome and will pave the way for
further growth of the State. The policy mentions development of
Mumbai-Pune-Solapur, Mumbai-Nashik- Aurangabad-Amravati-Nagpur,
Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg corridors in addition to the Delhi-Mumbai
Industrial corridor.
Mumbai, 3 January 2013