Shivraj Singh Chouhan Pitches For Big-Ticket Chinese Investments In MP

Beijing: Promising a hassle-free business climate to Chinese investors, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said he would also seek assistance from China-backed AIIB for a rural irrigation project in his state.

On his second visit to China, Mr Chouhan addressed a well-attended business forum in Beijing to highlight investment opportunities in Madhya Pradesh where he said investors will not find any hassles to get land, water and uninterrupted power for their businesses and factories.

Stating that Madhya Pradesh is among the top five Indian states in the list of ease of doing business, he said the state government itself has a land bank from which investors can secure the required land online without the hassle of getting it themselves.

In case the investors wanted land outside the land bank, the government has a special scheme to secure it through mutual consultations and sharing under which the landholders acquire certain stakes in the projects, he said.

Also the state now has surplus power removing the biggest infrastructure bottleneck faced by foreign and local firms.

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The state now produces about 17,000 MW of power making it available 24/7, he told the media later.

There is so much power in the state that at times it goes waste due to surplus production, he said.

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The state also emerged water surplus due to successful implementation of water diversion projects, he said.

Also the state also has more skilled manpower due to steady promotion of educational institutions like IIMs and ITIs, Mr Chouhan said asserting that the red tape has been cut down to minimum by clearing all licenses at one table.

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It is not single window but a single table, he said.

He sought Chinese investments in infrastructure, food processing, automobile and manufacturing sectors.

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Besides promoting four Chinese industrial townships, the state also was keen in Chinese investors participation in smart city development projects in which his government plans to spent Rs 75,000 crore in the next four years.

This included Rs 15,000 crore for water supply scheme for 13,000 villages.

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Besides meeting some top officials of ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Chouhan is due to meet the president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun and vice president D J Pandian during with he would seek the bank's assistance for his rural irrigation project.

India is a leading member of the AIIB in which 56 other countries have joined.

Mr Chouhan is also scheduled to meet Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC) and Zhao Leji, Politburo member and Minister of the Organisation Department of the CPC.

In his meetings with Mr Song and Mr Zhao, he said he would discuss improving relations between BJP and the ruling CPC which maintains fraternal ties with various political parties in India and the world.

Mr Chouhan is also scheduled to meet several Chinese CEOs and industrialists individually in the next two days and later go to Guangzhou where he would address a business forum and meet top officials of China's telecom giant Huawei.

Stating that India's image has improved after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over power, he said initiatives like 'Make in India' are attracting substantial foreign investments.

While central government policies are improving the image of the country, he said the policies can succeed only if the state governments implement them well.

States are important as Indian governance is based on cooperative federalism, he said.

States have to perform well for central policies to be successful and development of states means development of India, he said in his interaction with the media.

About his first trip to China in 2011, he said his efforts to get Chinese investments did not yield much results because of poor investment climate at that time.

But he is hopeful of the present visit as it is generating lot of interest and officials of top Chinese firms evinced interest to meet him to discuss specific investment projects.

Besides top officials of the state, Mr Chouhan's delegation included a number of top industrialists from his state.