On the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Maharashtra made some big deals. The state signed an agreement worth over Rs 4.99 lakh crore. This agreement will help create more than 92,000 jobs in different industries. The investments will support important areas like defence, renewable energy, steel, infrastructure, and more.
JSW Group leads with Rs 3 lakh crore investment
One of the biggest deals was with the JSW Group, which plans to invest Rs 3 lakh crore in Maharashtra. This money will go into different areas like steel, renewable energy, cement, infrastructure, and electric vehicles (EVs). The investment is expected to create 10,000 jobs in the state, especially in Nagpur and Gadchiroli. Maharashtra's Chief Minister Fadnavis praised the group for helping the state's economy grow and thanked JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal for his support.
In another major development, the Kalyani Group has decided to invest Rs 5,200 crore in defence, steel, and electric vehicles (EVs). This is a big deal for Gadchiroli, a district that hasn't seen much industrial growth in the past. The investment will create 4,000 jobs in the area, marking the beginning of new development and growth for Gadchiroli.
Other significant investments
Maharashtra has secured numerous other major investments across a wide range of industries.
- Reliance Infrastructure will invest Rs 16,500 crore in the defence sector in Ratnagiri.
- Balasore Alloys Ltd. and Viraj Profiles Pvt. Ltd. will invest Rs 17,000 crore and Rs 12,000 crore, respectively, in steel and metals, which will generate thousands of new jobs.
- AB InBev, a food and beverage company, will invest Rs 750 crore in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
- Bisleri International will invest Rs 250 crore in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), creating new job opportunities.
- Wari Energy has committed Rs 30,000 crore in solar devices, which will create 7,500 jobs in Nagpur.
- Blackstone will invest Rs 25,000 crore in IT infrastructure in MMR, generating 1,000 jobs.
Focus on "ease of doing business"
Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis highlighted the importance of the state’s focus on improving its "Ease of Doing Business," which has played a key role in attracting such substantial investments. "There are long queues of investors outside. We are making the process fast, easy, and investor-friendly," Fadnavis said.
In an interview, Fadnavis also shared details about the deals signed with JSW and other industries. "We had very good MOUs today. The speciality of MoUs is that they are from almost all fields, and they are in various sectors of Maharashtra, various areas of divisions of Maharashtra," he explained.
Training and skill development programs
Maharashtra has also made an agreement with Fuel (Friends Union for Energising Lives) to train 5,000 young people in skills like artificial intelligence, digital marketing, and business analytics. Fuel is also planning to open the Fuel Skilltech University in Pune to help people learn new skills. These agreements are important because they show that Maharashtra is becoming an even more appealing place for investments.