Indore: Hitting out at his predecessor Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that investors' summit is not a jamboree where thousands of people are milling around like some mela where you can't even hear yourself.
"It's also not an MoU signing spree. It's not just show and no substance. We have invited you here for a serious interaction of how we can partner with you to bring prosperity to the citizens of our state by creating more jobs and economic activities," the chief minister said while inaugurating the Magnificent Madhya Pradesh investors' summit on Friday.
While talking to Millennium Post, Nath made it very clear that he would not be sharing any proposed investment figures as he doesn't want to mislead the people of the state by projecting 'frivolous' investments figures that had never happened in reality. "A new chapter is being written in the history of MP in the field of investment. Our investment policies should be different for different sectors. Then only the investors will get attracted," he said, adding that I'm not going into any figures as these investments are just a glimpse and there is more to come.
"We are carrying out a study for optimum use of solar, wind and hydel power. Every sector has its own specifications, and we need to address them with future in sight," the CM said, adding, "We are just a 10-month-old government and I am carving a 5-year-road map of the state that I'm executing every month. It will be residents of the MP who will tell the difference they see."
On the occasion, Reliance's chairman Mukesh Ambani in his recorded video message said, "The company has invested over Rs 20,000 crore in the state during the last few years. It has created largescale employment and emerged the second largest employer after the state government. It has developed coal bed methane plants in the state and built the first and only gas pipeline that connects it with the national gas grid. This has opened up multiple investment opportunities."
"Jio has become the greatest catalyst for transforming MP into a digital society. Today, MP alone consumes more data than South Korea, the UK, France, Germany or Canada," Ambani said.
Talking about his future plans, he said, "The company has over 600 stores and 100 petroleum retail outlets in MP. We will have more than double these numbers in the coming years. The new commerce initiatives of Reliance Retail will benefit tens of thousands of kirana stores and small merchants."
While addressing the gathering, ITC's Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri announced the setting up of a new food processing plant in the state. "Land is with us. Design work is going on and we expect production to commence soon," he said, adding that besides producing all the famous brands, including 'Ashirwad' and 'Bingo,' the plant would de-hydrate locally sourced vegetables, to be sent across the country.
Sun Pharma's Dilip Sanghvi said that his company has so far invested over Rs 500 crore in the state.
Other noted industrialists who participated in the one-day event were Godrej's Adi Godrej, Bharti's Rakesh Bharti Mittal, CII chief Vikram Kirloskar, Trident Group's Rajinder Gupta, etc.