Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das sat down for an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian. Excerpts:
Q. During the initial years after it came into existence in 2000, Jharkhand largely went into wooing mega investments. However, now your government is focusing more on small and medium scale industries. What led to this major shift in strategy?
A. Jharkhand already has presence of big industries like Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Heavy Engineering Corporation. But all this has not eradicated poverty, unemployment and migration. We wanted integrated development. Therefore, we decided to go for small and medium scale industries which have a big role in generating employment. This will ensure that there is participation of the people in the development process.
Q. “Momentum Jharkhand” was the maiden Global Investors’ Summit organised by the state. How satisfied are you with its response?
A. I am happy that it has created a buzz at the national as well as international level. We have been successful in telling the world that Jharkhand is ready for investments. There were over 11000 delegates, including 600 from 26 foreign countries, which in fact surpassed our expectations. As many as 210 MoUs worth over Rs 3 lakh crore were signed during the event, which indicates that the industry responded well to our call to invest in Jharkhand.
Q. How will you ensure that the MoUs which have been signed see the light of day?
A. We have decided to set up the Chief Minister Investment Promotion Board which will do the monitoring of all the MoUs. I will personally review the progress of the projects on a monthly basis and see if there are bottlenecks. I will try to solve them on the spot. Our aim will be to ensure that the projects come on the ground in time. In fact, we have fixed timelines for the projects. While 172 MoUs will come on the ground within two years, 38 MoUs will be operational within three years. I can assure you that my government will start working from today itself towards implementation of the MoUs which have been signed during the summit and within the stipulated time-frame.
Q. What kind of support are you getting from the Centre in your efforts to bring in industries in Jharkhand?
A. We have given the call for “Make in Jharkhand”, which is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make In India”. The Centre is extending full cooperation to our efforts. As many as 14 Central ministers attended this summit, which is a testimony of the full-fledged support to our efforts. I am hopeful that Jharkhand will become Number One state in the next years.
Q. Why industries should invest in Jharkhand?
A. Jharkhand has the perfect ecosystem for investments. We have a good, skilled labour force, which I think is the biggest asset. Nearly 60% of our population is between 15 to 59 years of age. The gross state domestic product growth rate is 12.1% and the growth rate of per capita income is 11.10%. This demonstrates that Jharkhand is a fast emerging economy in the country. We have 2.1 million acre ready land bank. Moreover, we have constituted a good team of experts who would support and facilitate investors at every stage. For convenience of the investors, we have simplified the rules. There is a single window for various clearances. And add to that, we have vast natural resources — about 40% of country’s mineral reserves. No wonder, we are the fifth largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) among all other states in India and we are among the leading states in ease of doing business.