• Home
• /
• Business Technology Review

Rajasthan — An Ideal Place for Investment

The Indian state invites foreign investors and non-resident Indians to avail opportunities in one of the fastest growing economies of the world

Rajasthan is strategically located and an ideal place for investment in one of the fastest growing economies of the world [India] due to lucrative incentives and benefits provided by the state government, according to an official.

Rajasthan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rajyavardhan Rathore, who led a high-level delegation of Government of Rajasthan to the UAE for investment roadshows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September, said Rajasthan is working under the over-arching vision of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to turn India into the third largest economy in the coming years and a developed country by the centenary year of independence.

“Rajasthan is among the top states of India with a large number of young population. We’re on the transit rout as geographically the state is located between financial and political capital of India. We’ve a ‘strong political will’ to implement memorandum of understandings signed by the government in its very first year of governance,” Rathore said BTR during an interview.

“In the coming years, the focus will remain on converting investment proposals on ground and bring prosperity into the lives of people,” he said.

The largest state

Rajasthan is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. With $180 billion annual gross domestic product (GDP), it is among the largest state economies in India with an edge across several sectors that could prove extremely beneficial to the investors.

“We are keen to accelerate economic reforms and lift the state’s GDP to $350 billion by 2028 in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote India as the third-largest economy in next five years. We climbed from 11th position to fifth largest economy in the past 10 years and this upward economic transformation will continue,” Rathore said.

He said Rajasthan has access to 40 per cent of Indian market due to its strategic location hosting eight industrial corridors and 25 industrial parks recognised as the best industrial areas in ‘Leaders’ category by the Union government.

“We’re stable government and can ensure consistent economic policies so that investors will come and invest in the state with a clear strategy. Our policies are sync with the centre that helps accelerate the approvals of projects,” he said.

The minister said Rajasthan is improving its infrastructure, such as roads, ports, and airports, to support increased foreign investment and trade. The state has the third largest road network and fifth largest rail network in the country while its seven airports offer direct international and national connectivity.

“A complete overhaul of the existing administrative order and policy framework has been undertaken by the Rajasthan government to make the state more business friendly,” he said.

Business-friendly environment

Rathore said the government is cutting the regulatory red-tape and bringing the cost of doing business in Rajasthan substantially down in comparison to the other Indian states.

“We’ve introduced 21 new policies covering logistics, textile & apparel, and private industrial parks, among others. Additionally, the government has also modified seven policies to facilitate the investors and ensure transparency in the system.

“It will create a ‘ very vibrant economic environment’ in the state and that's extremely important for youth in terms of generating employment opportunities, providing self-employment or services, or small-scale manufacturing and collaborating with the big industries,” he said.

Single-window service

Rathore said the state government has invited business leaders and entrepreneurs to make investments and taken steps to create a business-friendly environment.

“We are offering single-window clearances to all investors. The government has appointed a focal person to its key markets such as the UAE, Qatar and Japan and that single person for each market will provide all the facilities to the potential investors in Rajasthan,” Rathore said.

The government recently appointed 23 designated officers as single point of contact for a number of countries who will handhold the investors in a comprehensive manner and ensure that investors do not come across any bottleneck, according to the minister.

“We’re guided by two philosophies — ease of business and lowering the cost of business, the basic requirements of every investor. In addition, the government is offering best infrastructure, low cost of land and customise packages to interested business groups and investors,” he said.

Rathore said Rajasthan’s potential as a global industrial hub is being explored with new initiatives such as the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ — a global investment summit, which is schedule to be held in December this year.

“We’re keen to secure domestic and foreign investments in key sectors such as IT, tourism, renewable energy, real estate, chemicals and petrochemicals, textile, agri-processing, health and pharma, skill development and education, among others,” the minister said while inviting the UAE business groups and investors to make investments in one of the most economically prominent state of India.

Rising Rajasthan investment summit, is one of the key pillars of the government to attain the envisioned target of doubling the state’s GDP in the next five years. The three-day event will showcase Rajasthan as one of the most business-friendly states that is taking all possible steps to help investors set up their business in Rajasthan, according to the minister.

“Since the new government assumed powers eight months back, the thrust has been towards simplifying the way of doing business and provide a plethora of fiscal incentives to the business class to reduce the cost of business substantially. Fast-tracking of approvals, online and single-window decision-making and key fiscal incentives will help Rajasthan emerge as the favourite investment destination,” Rathore concluded.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com