Pathways to Prosperity

Madhya Pradesh government has worked diligently over the last two decades to develop the state as an industrial hub and promote it as a potential investment destination. Today, the industrial growth rate of the state has reached 24 per cent while it was at -0.61 per cent in the year 2003. The state government has made an investment in billions to support infrastructure in the last few years.

MP has recently hosted an international-level meet, the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas Convention, and organised the Global Investors Summit in Indore. The event was inaugurated by PM Modi, and President Draupadi Murmu attended the valedictory session of the function. The 5,000 delegates of 84 countries along with the top business icons of the country participated in the function. During the investors’ summit, intention for a total of Rs 15,42,514 crore investment was received. By this, around 29 lakh employment will be created for the youth of the state.

“Madhya Pradesh has owned its special identity. Yah Ajab Hai, Gajab Hai aur Sajag Bhi. The Narmada water, the forests, the tribal traditions and the spirituality here are all unique and unforgettable”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

“MP is committed to the ‘ease of starting and doing business’. As the CEO of the State for Industrialisation, I assure you that not a single penny of your investment will be wasted. Team MP stands with you for any assistance”, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

MP now has 3,436 recognised startups including 1,564 women-led and 59 incubators. Rs 883 crore was provisioned for MSMEs in the 2022-23 Budget.

The state has good road, rail and air connectivity to large markets and major metro cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata. MP possesses a road network of 4,10,000 km, with three Vande Bharat Express trains and around 500 trains passing through the state daily besides its air connectivity with major tier-1 cities in the country. PM Modi has flagged off Vande Bharat trains from Rani Kamlapati Railway station, which was redeveloped with world-class facilities. The PM also dedicated the station to the nation.

Under the Amrut Bharat Station scheme, 80 railway stations in the state will be redeveloped. PM Modi on August 6 laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 34 railway stations, worth Rs 983 crore, under the scheme.

More than Rs 86,000 crore of rail projects are under progress in the state, and in the Union Budget 2023-24, Rs 13,607 crore has been proposed for rail works for Madhya Pradesh.

The state falls under the influence area of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and has developed industrial and investment regions like Pithampur-Dhar- Mhow, Ratlam-Nagda, Shajapur-Dewas and Neemuch-Nayagaon along the corridor.

The state is developing four investment corridors — Bhopal-Indore, Bhopal-Bina, Jabalpur-Katni-Satna-Singrauli, and Morena-Gwalior-Shivpuri-Guna — to promote industrial development and employment opportunities.

The presence of good connectivity by road and railway, favourable MP government policies, mineral resources, skilled labour, high demand etc make Madhya Pradesh a great manufacturing hub.

Madhya Pradesh has become a hub in automobile manufacturing as well. Pithampura is also famous as the ‘Detroit of India.’

Indore and Bhopal districts have become secondary choices for industrial investment destinations for bigger cities like Noida and Gurgaon.

MP is one of the leading states in manufacturing in areas like textile, automobiles, food processing, engineering, and agriculture equipment due to the advantages of workforce availability.

Madhya Pradesh has been classified into 7 Industrial Development Corporations, MPIDC, which are established in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Sagar, and Rewa districts.

It also has over 4,426 manufacturing units. The state established the first greenfield SEZ of India in Pithampur. It has a total area of 1,114 hectares.

The share of the secondary sector in the economy of Madhya Pradesh is expected to increase by 5.42 per cent in the year 2022-23.

The state’s economy is agriculture-oriented and needs industrialization to achieve higher levels of development.

The government of MP. launched Industry Promotion Policy 2021 to create an effective and sustaining investment climate in the state.

State Industrial Land Bank Portal, a GIS system for displaying the availability of land and infrastructure, was developed to improve the ease of doing business.

The MP government is promoting sustainable utilization of resources to promote industrial development. The state contributes over 40 per cent share to India’s total organic farming. As per a report published by DACFW, Government of India, Horticulture productivity/hectare is higher in MP than India’s national average.

MP has 1,20,000 acres of industrial land bank, including 40,000 acres of developed area. Over the last years, it has developed SEZs and sector-specific parks like SEZ Pithampur, Crystal IT Park, Plastic Park in Tamot and Gwalior, Logistics Park in Shivpuri, Vikram Udyogpuri, Ujjain, Spice Park, Chhindwara, among others.

Due to the efforts of the state government and its feasible policies, MP has become a leader in textile manufacturing, automobiles, food processing, engineering and agriculture equipment manufacturing.

All the above-mentioned factors pave the way for Madhya Pradesh to become a developed state. It has now become a developing state from being a BIMARU Rajya. According to a report released by RBI, Madhya Pradesh secured fifth position, garnering a 7.2 per cent share in industrial investments. Over the last decade, Madhya Pradesh has witnessed a radical transformation in terms of economic and social development. It is attributable to the government’s efforts taken to develop the state with good amenities for industrialisation. The state government has created a robust support infrastructure in terms of roads, water supply, irrigation capacity and a 24×7 power supply. Madhya Pradesh stands 5th among Indian states in the “Ease of Doing Business” ranking conducted by the World Bank and DIPP.

The abundant manpower of the state is being developed into a skilled technical workforce through several programmes and schemes introduced by CM Chouhan. Chief Minister Chouhan has recently launched a scheme, ‘Earn and Learn’ for the youth in this regard. Under the scheme, a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000-10,000 is provided to 12th students, as well as to ITI, diploma and degree holders along with giving the opportunity of learning skills.

Having established a strong pedestal for rapid economic development, the people-centric transparent policies and hassle-free investment procedures in the state are gradually making Madhya Pradesh a Global Investment Hub.

Narmada Expressway is the proposed 8-lane expressway in the state, which will connect Amarkantak in the eastern end of Madhya Pradesh via Dindori, Shahpura, Jabalpur and Alirajpur to the western end of the state alongside the Narmada River. The highway measures 1,300 km and will connect Gujarat with Chhattisgarh. Along with both sides of the Expressway, industrial clusters will be developed.

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is a solar park spread over an area of 1,590 acres (6.4 sq. km) in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. The project generates 750 MW of electricity.

Ease of doing business

It is focused on creating an enabling investment climate to improve ‘ease of doing business’ for existing and prospective investors by introducing the most progressive policies.

Boost to agricultural growth

Riding on the development of a broad road network spanning 4,10,000 km over the last two decades, out of which 1 lakh km has been developed in rural areas, the agricultural growth of Madhya Pradesh reached 18.89 per cent in 2020-21 from a mere 3 per cent in 2002-03.

Rs 53,964 crore has been provisioned for agriculture and allied sectors in the current financial year whereas it was only Rs 600 crore in 2002-03.

The economy of Madhya Pradesh is an agrarian economy. The state has witnessed tremendous growth in the agriculture sector in the past two decades.

In 2022-2023, the contribution of the primary sector to the economy of Madhya Pradesh was 36.32 per cent of the state’s Gross Value Added (GVA).

The government of Madhya Pradesh has taken major policy initiatives to boost agriculture growth in the state.

The major sectors are irrigation, power, roads, financing and food procurement. It helped in the expansion of agriculture in MP.

Agriculture and allied activities

Allied sector activities include horticulture, milk, poultry and fisheries sectors. Madhya Pradesh has shown growth in all the major allied agriculture activities. The livestock sector’s contribution to the economy of Madhya Pradesh has steadily increased. It contributed 5.93 per cent to the economy of Madhya Pradesh in 2022–23.

The development of road infrastructure is imperative for agriculture and overall economic growth, as also for improving the quality of life. Agriculture also plays an essential role in the process of economic development.

Road transport played an important role in the agricultural growth of Madhya Pradesh because it has become a major means of transporting agricultural produce from farms to the markets as well as to various urban communities (Mandis). Therefore, farmers of the state have got the facility to transport their produce to the Mandis for selling them at a better price. Road connectivity has helped in making agriculture a business of profit.

As better roads reduce transaction costs associated with agricultural activities, the costs of inputs have decreased, output has increased, and has permitted entry into new and more profitable activities.

Road infrastructure played a very significant role in accelerating agricultural production in Madhya Pradesh. It is well known that rural roads connectivity is one of the key components for rural development. As it promotes access to economic and social services, it has generated increased agricultural income and productive employment in the state.

Access roads built in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the CM Road Connectivity scheme have provided the means to bring the rural population into the mainstream. Due to a good road network, transport costs have been reduced, accelerating the efficient delivery of farm inputs and enhancing special agricultural production and distribution. It has expanded the distribution of agricultural goods as well as opened up additional opportunities for agricultural trade, and led to the expansion of markets and economies of scale along with providing markets to the locally produced items.

There is a direct relationship between the increase in acreage of export crop cultivation and the standard of roads and distance from the main commercial centres.

The sowing area was 299 lakh hectares in 2022-23 whereas it was 199 lakh hectares in 2003. Foodgrain production reached 619 lakh metric tonnes in 2022-23 whereas it was only 159 lakh MT during 2002-03. Today, the acreage of the third crop in the state is 13 lakh hectares whereas the third crop was not even sown in 2002-03. Acreage under horticulture crops has increased to 25 lakh hectares whereas it was 4.67 lakh hectares in 2002-03.

Power for farming is available now at 2.72 KV per hectare, the availability of electricity for agricultural use was only 0.65 KV per hectare in 2003. Crop production has now increased to 2,421 kg per hectare while it was 1,195 kg per hectare in 2002-03.

Wheat production reached 352.73 lakh MT in 2022-23 while it was only 73.65 lakh MT in 2003-04.