'Ease of doing business, land bank will make Resurgent Rajasthan a success'

JAIPUR: From Germany to Chennai and Jaipur to various districts in the state, the travel calendar of state industries minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar remains chock-a-block as the state seeks to tick all the right boxes before the two-day global investors' summit 'Resurgent Rajasthan' takes place in November this year. Besides attempts to hardsell Rajasthan among the overseas and domestics investors as a destination of first choice, the state machinery is in an overclocked mode to improve the business climate.In an interview to TOI, Khimsar said the government is trying to eliminate the bottlenecks, enhance ease of doing business and create a land bank to facilitate investors looking to set up ventures. On the local industry's complain that the state has adopted a step-motherly attitude towards them while going out in a big way to attract large investments, he said the business community in the state is the backbone of Rajasthan's economy and he has all the time to resolve their problems. Excerpts:
How has been the response to the roadshows of Resurgent Rajasthan so far?
We have put in a lot of planning to address the entire spectrum of areas that the investor community would like us to have in place. Potential is already there as the state has large tracts of land and a rich base for a lot of minerals. The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor for which the land acquisition process is complete, will be a game changer for the state. The proximity to NCR has lot of advantages. Moreover, there is a government which is intent on eliminating roadblocks that have hampered investments in the past. Now, we are determined to ensure that the potential gets translated into real investments. Going by the number of MoUs and the engagements with the investors, we are confident of making Resurgent Rajasthan a roaring success.
You seem to be focusing more on manufacturing instead of services which is the largest contributor to the state's economy. Since most of the industrial areas are falling under dark zones with scarcity of water looming, should not the focus be on services sector?
Resurgent Rajasthan is sector agnostic. We have drawn up a list of thrust areas like ceramics, solar power, textiles, handicraft, electronics etc. where the state enjoys natural advantages. But there are also a lot companies from sectors such as education, food processing, healthcare, and IT that have shown interest. Manufacturing creates large-number of jobs and even contributes to services sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is keen to reduce the country's dependence on imports. And if we attract large number of companies in manufacturing, that will go on to contribute to Make in India campaign while creating a Make in Rajasthan brand.
Ease of doing business has been a major concern and what Rajasthan is doing to improve its ranking?
Recently, the Centre had circulated a set of 285 questions to all the states aimed at ranking them on ease of doing business. Rajasthan today complies with 236 of them. 38 of the questions are not applicable to the state. We have put in place a system for online approvals and certifications that would address the entire process from making an application for starting a new company to filing of returns. This will bring in transparency, fast-track decision making and end inspector raj.
While the state is going in a big way to attract investments from outside, the local industry feels betrayed. They allege land is being not allotted for their projects. Even allotted land is being cancelled. They complain the top officials in RIICO don't give them even an appointment to hear their problems...
The people of the state have given a massive mandate to this government. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje Ji has taken very bold initiatives like labour reforms. We will do anything required within the framework of the law to fulfill her vision. If the local industry has grievances, they can come to me. We have been elected to serve the interests of the state and in that spirit, I will do everything to see that the local industry also enjoys utmost level of comfort for doing business. MSMEs constitute 90% of the industry in the state, and we cannot overlook their concerns.
The government has been creating a land bank for fast tracking project implementation. How successful you have been?
Private land acquisition is difficult at this juncture. The land acquisition Bill needs to be passed by the Centre. But we cannot wait for the Act as we need land for new projects. That's why we are now concentrating on government land and have created a bank of more than 5600 acres in various parts of the state. This includes land both in RIICO industrial areas and new land bank.