The recently held six-day business expo, Make in India Week, has helped the government generate investment commitments worth £152 billion for the country, as per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Around 30 per cent of the commitments are foreign investment.
Maharashtra has generated more than half the total tally, signing MoUs worth nearly £80 billion and expects to generate 3000,000. Within the state, the Konkan division, which includes the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, cornered the largest share of MoUs, worth over £32.5 billion. Vidharbha and Marathwada generated MoUs worth £15 billion. Deals for western Maharashtra and Khandesh totalled £5 billion and £2.5 billion. However, the question is, how many of the commitments would actually convert into projects? “We expect the conversion rate to be over 80 per cent in the next three years. These are investment commitments, which means pre-clearance work has been done,” said DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant. He also said that besides manufacturing, it also focussed on innovation and start ups, and created a platform where corporates, policymakers and politicians could converge.
The largest multi-sector business fair in Asia, the Make in India Week was aimed at showcasing India's manufacturing sector. It generated 890,000 visitors across 102 countries, the DIPP said. It also played host to 20 foreign dignitaries, including two Prime Ministers. Other than that, the event saw the participation of over 9,000 Indian companies and over 2,000 foreign companies.
