'Resurgent Rajasthan' Summit to Showcase Investment Opportunities

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

The Government of Rajasthan is keen to attract auto and auto component manufacturers to Rajasthan. Stating this, the Rajasthan Minister of Industries, Mr Narpat Singh Rajvi called on investors to participate in the 'Resurgent Rajasthan' summit and take advantage of the wide range of business opportunities in the state.

The 'Resurgent Rajasthan' summit will take place in Jaipur over two days, on November 30 and December 1, 2007, in association with FICCI. A delegation of senior officials from the Rajasthan government, including Mr Ashok Sampatram, Principal Secretary, Industries, Mr Umesh Kumar, Finance Secretary & Commissioner Investment, Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) and Mr Kuldeep Ranka, Managing Director, Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO), made the announcement today in Chennai.

The 'Resurgent Rajasthan' summit offers participants an opportunity to explore exciting business prospects in the state, including infrastructure development. This is consistent with the Rajasthan government's vision for 360-degree development, a vision that has enabled the state to emerge as one of the fastest growing states in India.

"Our government is laying strong emphasis on diversifying the state's economy and putting it on a high growth trajectory," explained Mr Rajvi. "The state's economy grew by over 8% last year. Efficient infrastructure, power, roads and transport, besides human capital, are essential pre-requisites for accelerated industrial development and economic growth. We have given high priority to development in all these sectors to make the environment conducive for growth, to effectively support investments and facilitate business opportunities."

Rajasthan is well on its way to becoming a hub of business opportunities for people from both within the country and across the world, setting new benchmarks in public-private partnerships and development plans. The state offers a peaceful work environment and possesses huge potential for industrial development. The government's efforts are now highly visible - the 'Doing Business in South Asia 2007' report brought out by the World Bank on the business climate in 12 major cities in India ranked Jaipur in third place, just behind Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Rajasthan has been upbeat on the auto sector in the last few years. The Bhiwadi industrial area in the state is already home to about 70 auto component units including prominent players like Caparo Fasteners, Climate System, Federal Mogul, Goetze, Hi-Tech Gear, Ocap Chassis, Amtek India, Balkrishan Tyres, and Continental Engines, amongst others.

RIICO has already provided about 600 acres of land to Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCIL) to set up its second manufacturing plant in May this year. The presence of automobile majors like Ashok Leyland, Eicher, Hero Honda and Honda Siel Cars, amongst others in the region has facilitated growth of the auto manufacturing sector in Rajasthan in a significant way. Last month the Japanese auto component maker Nissin Brakes India Pvt Ltd. conducted a ground-breaking ceremony to set up its operations in Neemrana.

"Rajasthan offers vital infrastructure, an enabling policy environment and competitive advantages over other states, which together create an environment conducive for investment and growth," said Mr Kuldeep Ranka, MD, RIICO. "We are happy that Chennai-based Sundaram-Clayton is among the first to set up a manufacturing facility at Choupanki in Rajasthan. The Resurgent Rajasthan summit will unfold a wide range of business opportunities for investors and we have no doubt that the astute business community in Chennai will respond favourably to what Rajasthan has to offer them."

Resurgent Rajasthan Summit

The focus sectors in the summit will be Automotive parts, Information Technology, Infrastructure and Manufacturing, Education, HRD and Healthcare, Tourism and Heritage Conservation.

The Partnership Summit will include a variety of workshops and business sessions for participants, with a focus on building business relationships and on new business opportunities in the state. The summit will provide an excellent platform for investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs and FIICI members to network, exchange ideas and participate in one-to-one discussions with senior officials of the Rajasthan Government.

In the run-up to the event, the State will give high priority to new proposals. Projects currently under consideration of the State Government have been put on fast track for requisite clearances/approvals. There will be regular high-level meetings to consider existing projects/ proposals/ expressions of interest and MoUs will be signed with promoters for implementation of projects. There are a number of new projects in the Public-Private Partnership mode on offer.

Investment Opportunities in various sectors

The State offers business opportunities in a wide range of sectors and these sectors are open to private investment:

-- Manufacturing

-- Automobile and auto ancillaries

-- Mineral-based, including cement, gypsum

-- Agro-processing

-- Education, health and tourism related services

-- IT and ITES related services

-- Infrastructure

-- Power, including non-conventional

-- Roads, urban services, water supply

-- SEZs

-- Tourism and Culture

-- Urban Transport

Power

Rajasthan is on course to become self sufficient in power by 2008. Besides setting up new power projects in the state sector, the government is also promoting private investment in power generation. The state already has an installed capacity of 5,500 MW of power and will add 4500 MW by 2011-12 through state sector projects of 1500 MW, private sector projects of 1500 MW and central sector projects of 1500 MW.

There are attractive opportunities for participation in the non-conventional energy sector. Rajasthan is fortunate to be blessed with abundant resources for non-conventional energy. Such units come under the 'Clean Development Mechanisms' under the Convention of Climate Change and investors stand to gain carbon credits, which makes it an attractive proposition. Over 520 MW of non-conventional power is already being generated by private units in the State.

Roads

Rajasthan has joined hands with the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Company (IL&FS) to supplement and build on the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) efforts to broaden national highways. This is a first-of-its-kind project in the country. A State Road Fund has also been created with the objective of leveraging private capital for investment in roads. By April 2008, all five North-South corridors shall be ready as world class expressways. Nearly 39% of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, proposed alongside the Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor, will pass through Rajasthan. This offers new opportunities in a number of manufacturing and services sectors.

Industry

At present, RIICO has developed 304 industrial areas including SEZs equipped with the required infrastructure to facilitate rapid growth. The Bhiwadi-Neemrana belt alongside the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor has tremendous potential for both industrial and services investment owing to its proximity to the national capital, international airport, strategic location on the road and rail link between Delhi and Mumbai.

Information Technology

Rajasthan will soon announce a revised IT Policy and policy reforms to boost the ITES/BPO sector. The government also plans to convert Jaipur into a Wi-Fi city which along with the upcoming State Wide Area Network and the existing Free Right of Way would meet the communication requirements of investors.

The 'Computer Education on Wheels' in partnership with the private sector will take computer literacy to the villages, to equip the people there to participate in the economic growth process.

Human Resource Development

The Rajasthan government's focus is on enriching new competencies and transforming traditional skills. The government has also come out with policies to attract investments in medical education, hotels and townships, which will generate new employment and facilitate development of the physical and social infrastructure in the State to stimulate the growth further. On the Human Resources front, the state regularly organizes special capacity building programs for college teachers and training programmes for students. It is the first state to launch NASSCOM's NAC (NASSCOM Assessment of Competence) to assess soft skills in order to enhance the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in the state.

The 'Rajasthan Education Initiative', has brought the government, industry leaders (CISCO, IBM, NIIT, Microsoft, etc) and other bodies, like the World Economic Forum and GeSCI (Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative) together to give the education sector a fillip. Over Rs 25 crore private investments have been channeled into this sector in the last two years.

The state policy to promote private sector investment in healthcare facilities has already attracted over Rs. 2,000 crore worth of investment. The new hotel policy is geared to draw investments in the hospitality sector.

Tourism

Besides infrastructure and hospitality services, there are many opportunities to partner the State in the development and conservation of historical monuments in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan is thus all set to take a giant leap in terms of growth and development. The state has already gained recognition for its business-friendly environment and competitive economic incentives. The 'Resurgent Rajasthan: Partnership Summit' will help investors find new opportunities and expand the scope of business in the future.

About Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation Ltd. (RIICO)

Since its inception in 1969, RIICO has emerged as a multi-faceted and dynamic institution. It has kept pace with the industrialization process in providing complete and innovative means of financial and investment support services.

RIICO is also the sole government agency in the State involved in development of land for industrial enterprises. Large, medium and small scale projects get an easy access to a ready-to-use base with supportive infrastructure facilities in the industrial areas, developed and managed by RIICO. The financial and vital infrastructural facilities provided by RIICO have contributed towards accelerated growth of the industrial sector in the State.

About Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP)

The Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) is the nodal agency that promotes the establishment of industrial units in the state. BIP assists in every possible way, right from project conceptualization to its final implementation. BIP provides investment support by acting as a single-point interface with all government departments. BIP ensures that all the clearances and incentives are provided to industrial units within the prescribed time schedule.

Source: Government of Rajasthan (Business Wire India)

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