It was on February 16, 1912 that Tata Steel, then TISCO, created India’s industrial history by rolling out its first steel ingot at its plant in Jamshedpur. Hundred and five years later, it was only befitting then for a Tata scion, Ratan Tata, to be Jharkhand’s flag bearer in urging his national and international corporate fraternity to invest in the State, which Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said is poised to “exceed the national economic growth average by 4-5 per cent” as it is “free from the stigma of corruption and political instability”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted to exude confidence that the summit will create several opportunities for people of the State and “give wings to their aspirations”, alluding to Jharkhand’s Flying Elephant logo promoted by State’s Brand Ambassador, former Team India skipper MS Dhoni. “May the deliberations in this Summit lead to fruitful outcomes that contribute to Jharkhand’s growth,” the Prime Minister on Thursday said adding the skills and determination of people of Jharkhand and proactive efforts of the State Government are bringing record development in the State.
Speaking as the chief guest at Jharkhand’s first-of-its-kind mega investor extravaganza, with 28 participating countries and four partner nations, Jaitley also based his growth forecast for the State on its rich natural resources besides, of course, a “stable” BJP Government —the first majority dispensation since the State’s creation in November 2000—in place after a spate of coalition dispensations.
Recalling undivided Bihar days, Jaitley said, “When Jharkhand was a part of Bihar, a political model was developing which envisaged that you don’t need economic development to win elections. You merely have to indulge in some kind of social engineering. And for a fairly long period, social engineering in preference to developmental policies dominated the centrestage of this region.
“Initially, there was political instability, and if I can be more candid, there was a stigma of corruption and therefore, in today’s world where investor is the chooser, and investor has several multiple options, he does not like to invest or fish in troubled territories,” he said adding Jharkhand suffered due to flawed economic policies of erstwhile Governments and there was inherent reluctance in allowing big industries to come and participate in economic progress.
The Centre, represented by Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Venkaiah Naidu, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal besides Jaitley, expressed its full backing to Jharkhand. Gadkari pointed out his Ministry will invest `50,000 crore in the road sector in the State in the next two-and-half-years and enlisted the progress on the 50-km river length of the 1,620-km Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hoogly stretch, under Sahebganj in Jharkhand, where a multi-modal hub is being built at a cost of `290 crore. Calling Jharkhand the Tussar Silk Capital of India’, Irani announced the launch of ‘Bunkar Sanvardhan Sahayata Yojana’ while Goyal pointed out that 30 new mines in Jharkhand will be auctioned this year. Naidu said Ranchi could perhaps be the “first Smart City of India”.
As for the industrialists, who already have a stake in Jharkhand, Navin Jindal announced an additional investment of Rs 20,000 crore while Shashi Ruia said Essar is planning to set up a BPO facility with a sitting capacity of 2,000. He also hoped his company will obtain coal linkages for its 1,200 MW thermal power plant at Tori wherein over `4,700 crore already invested on the ground. Kumar Mangalam Birla spoke about his company’s first cement venture in the State and announced an investment of `5,000 crore; Rajesh Adani said his company will invest `20,000 crore in various sectors including investment of ultra mega power plant; and Anil Agarwal announced Vedanta’s foray in the State through an initial investment of Rs 5000 crore.
For his part, Chief Minister Raghubar Das showcased his two years’ ‘performance’, especially the creation of a 2.1-million-acre landbank, to seek investments in the State from the attending industry captains. Availability and acquisition of land has been the major impediment in Jharkhand’s industrial growth. The State is “focusing more on non-mineral-based industries” like food processing, healthcare among others.
Das listed out: Jharkhand is among the top five FDI-recipient States; it tops in labour-friendly policies, and is ranked number two for ease of doing business.
“Though we are known for our rich mineral deposits (Jharkhand is number 1 in coal reserves and number 2 in iron reserves) and steel and automobile industry, I feel our biggest assets are our people. Nearly 60 percent of our population is between 15-59 years; our GSDP is 12.1 percent and growth rate of per capita income is 12.1 percent. We have formulated 16 new policies, set up an IT Advisory Council and Jharkhand Investment Promotion Board,” Das, whose giant posters adorn every nook and corner of the State capital, said. The State will hold the first Pravasi Jharkhandi Diwas on November 28-29 this year, he announced.