Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday showered effusive praises on industrialist Gautam Adani while he pitched the state as a favourable investment destination that has friendly government policies, excellent road infrastructure, skilled labour, as well as better law and order.
"Gautam bhai was speaking about Gujarat. Gujaratis have always been very capable, even before the country achieved independence. Gujarat had industrialisation even before independence. Maharashtra-Gujarat have always been economically well off," the CM said.
"I'll speak about Rajasthan. The state was reeling under drought and famine for centuries. There used to be migration. Gautam bhai, one should appreciate courage of Rajasthanis. Your state was in good condition, now we hear Gautam Adani is among the top 2 richest people in the world," he added.
In his address at the inaugural session of the two-day 'Invest Rajasthan' Summit here, Gehlot highlighted that there has been an improvement in the happiness index of the state, which also saw its GDP rise by Rs 3 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore in the last three years.
According to Gehlot, Rajasthan today produces 23,000 MW electricity. It had started producing 3-4 MW wind energy and presently produces 4,500 MW energy from wind besides 10,000 MW solar energy. "The state GDP has increased by Rs 3 lakh crore in three years in Rajasthan. Total state GDP today stands at Rs 12 lakh crore. The state's happiness index has also increased, making it a suitable destination for investment and business," Gehlot said.
At the summit, Adani announced a Rs 65,000 crore investment in Rajasthan over the next 5 to 7 years in setting up a mega 10,000 MW solar power capacity, expanding cement plant and upgrading Jaipur airport. Meanwhile, Gehlot said the state has implemented the MSME Facilitation Act in 2019 and the policy proposes to give a relaxation of five years in approvals and inspections to industry players. The state has also given industry status to the tourism sector, which will provide the benefits that industrial set ups are getting here, he added.
'Setup semi-conductor chip manufacturing industry'
Gehlot has invited Vedanta Group to set up its semi-conductor chip manufacturing industry in Rajasthan amid a tussle for the project between Maharashtra and Gujarat. The CM said that there is a protest going on in Maharashtra on the shifting of the factory to Gujarat. "There is a protest going on in Maharashtra that why Anil Agarwal is shifting the industry to Gujarat. A lot of it has appeared in newspapers. I would like to say you (Agarwal) that there is a fight between Maharashtra and Gujarat. So, shift the industry to Rajasthan," Gehlot said.
He further said, "There will be no fight. Rajasthan is your own state. Finish this fight. You are doing a very big investment." The Chief Minister said that after corona pandemic, there is a huge crisis for a semiconductor chip, which is used in mobile phones, laptops and even cars. He said that Vedanta Group is digging oil and running mines in Rajasthan and there is no doubt that he is also taking care of the state. Gehlot said that there is no dearth of mines and minerals in the state and it is his (Agarwal) thinking that how to scientifically extract them. He is always concerned about Rajasthan.
Earlier, the Vedanta chairman had said that the state has a conducive investment environment. He had also announced that Vedanta along with Foxconn will invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing facility in Gujarat, which would create one lakh job opportunities. The Vedanta chairman emphasised that the facility will be a game changer as the cost of the finished products will come down.
Agarwal said a cluster of TV, laptop, and other electronic items manufacturing units should be developed in Rajasthan, which will reduce the cost of finished products because the raw materials -- semiconductor chips and display -- will be supplied from the factory in Gujarat. He claimed that a laptop costing around Rs 1.5 lakh can be made available at Rs 40,000-50,000, TVs costing about Rs 30,000-40,000, and mobile phones costing Rs 20,000 can be made available for Rs 5,000-6,000. This will be possible because of the local manufacturing of chips and glass, he added.
Gehlot ceremonially performed ground breaking of 33 industrial units and inauguration of 18 industrial units. launched the Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS) 2022 at the Inaugural Session of the Summit. The Chief Minister also launched state's first Non-Resident Rajasthani (NRR) policy. In a session, he requested the non-resident Rajasthanis to stay connected to their motherland.
