The Resurgent Rajasthan summit is expected to attract investment worth Rs. three lakh crore for the state
Jaipur is all spruced up and ready for the mega event Resurgent Rajasthan, which aims to showcase the state not just as a tourist destination with forts and palaces but also a top investment destination of the country.
The two-day event in Jaipur will see high powered guests like the Tatas, Birlas, the Ambanis, Adani and Adi Godrej in attendance.
The Rajasthan government has already signed memorandums in various sectors to the tune of Rs 2.8 lakh crore.
On a quick inspection of the city ahead of the event, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said, "There is no holding Rajasthan back now.. If the people of Rajasthan can go abroad make a name for themselves, why can't they do something here?"
In her second term as chief minister, Ms Raje has come up with some key moves to attract industry and investment.
From stopping all doles and popular welfare schemes of the previous Congress government, she simplified labour laws and had a land acquisition bill in the pipeline that will make it easy for the government to acquire land for industrial development.
The thrust areas for investment are solar energy, mines and petrochemicals, real estate and tourism.
In 2007, during her first tenure as Chief Minister, a similar initiative had promises of Rs 162,000 crores of investment. But only 33% of that translated into cash on the table or real investment on ground.
"We learnt some lessons from our first Resurgent Rajasthan of 2007. This time, we have been carefully scrutinising investors and want to ensure that only those serious about investment sign memorandums with us. If we get even 60% of this investment, it would mean a lot of money," said Industries Minister Gajendra Singh.
"It is healthy competition among states," said CII president Sumit Majumdar in the context of similar programmes elsewhere -- Progressive Punjab and Vibrant Gujarat. "If states vie to offer the best to industry, industry will gain. It also shows that states are doing their own bit to improve their economies rather than merely depending on the Centre like they used to earlier."
But Resurgent Rajasthan is more than just good economics. It is also sound politics, as it promises to be an image makeover not only for Rajasthan, but also the chief minister herself, who was recently under a cloud for her links with former cricket czar Lalit Modi.