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Chhattisgarh will rule investors' mind: Raman Singh
Tuesday, 04 January 2005, 20:30 IST
RAIPUR: Chief Minister Raman Singh says Chhattisgarh will continue to be the top investment destination in the country as the state is "a paradise" for the steel and power sectors.
"Forget the bigger and traditionally investment friendly states such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi which have always bagged major investments in the past years. It's now time for mineral-rich Chhattisgarh to rule in the minds of investors," Singh told IANS in an interview.
Of the gross investment worth 
761.33 billion ($17.36 billion) in the entire country during fiscal 2003-04, Chhattisgarh received 77.78 billion or 10.22 percent, a recent survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed.
In the fiscal year 2002-03, the state had earned an investment of just 1.48 billion - a mere one percent of the total national investment of 147.75 billion.
Singh said the state was all set to ink memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth 70 billion for setting up steel and power plants.
Chhattisgarh has 18.02 percent of India's coal reserves and 23.24 percent of iron ore. Some MNCs, including the South African diamond giant DeBeers, confirmed that seven of the 16 districts in the state have huge reserves of the kimberlite group of rocks that contain world quality diamond deposits.
Singh said he would give a presentation at the diaspora meet in Mumbai on Jan 8 to select steel and power sector tycoons to attract more investment. The three-day convention begins on Jan 7.
This will be the first time that Chhattisgarh, which was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000, will participate at the diaspora event.
Singh, who led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a surprise victory in the December 2003 assembly polls, claims that his government adopted tight financial discipline and managed to keep fiscal deficit below 18 percent, which is normally above 40 percent in most states.
"The state's financial condition is one of the best managed in the country."
"The BJP government has never faced an overdraft situation with the RBI, we have kept the government's establishment expenditure below 32 percent of gross income and, most importantly, provided 49 percent to the social sector," Singh said.
Source: IANS
761.33 billion ($17.36 billion) in the entire country during fiscal 2003-04, Chhattisgarh received 77.78 billion or 10.22 percent, a recent survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed.
In the fiscal year 2002-03, the state had earned an investment of just 1.48 billion - a mere one percent of the total national investment of 147.75 billion.
Singh said the state was all set to ink memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth 70 billion for setting up steel and power plants.
Chhattisgarh has 18.02 percent of India's coal reserves and 23.24 percent of iron ore. Some MNCs, including the South African diamond giant DeBeers, confirmed that seven of the 16 districts in the state have huge reserves of the kimberlite group of rocks that contain world quality diamond deposits.
Singh said he would give a presentation at the diaspora meet in Mumbai on Jan 8 to select steel and power sector tycoons to attract more investment. The three-day convention begins on Jan 7.
This will be the first time that Chhattisgarh, which was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000, will participate at the diaspora event.
Singh, who led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a surprise victory in the December 2003 assembly polls, claims that his government adopted tight financial discipline and managed to keep fiscal deficit below 18 percent, which is normally above 40 percent in most states.
"The state's financial condition is one of the best managed in the country."
"The BJP government has never faced an overdraft situation with the RBI, we have kept the government's establishment expenditure below 32 percent of gross income and, most importantly, provided 49 percent to the social sector," Singh said.
Source: IANS