Rs 27k cr MoUs, Commitments On Advantage Vidarbha Day 1

Nagpur: The first day of Advantage Vidarbha business conclave witnessed MoUs and investment commitments worth ₹27,500 crore. The three-day conclave was inaugurated by Union minister Nitin Gadkari and CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. Gadchiroli's steel potential and Vidarbha's job-creation push emerged as the central themes of the event.MoUs and investment commitments included Mahindra & Mahindra's ₹15,000 crore integrated automobile and tractor investment plan with a plant in Nagpur, a supplier hub in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and expansion in Nashik; ₹10,000 crore Smelters investment MoU, and a ₹2,500 crore MoU with N Motive, Germany, to bring giga casting technology for EV 3-wheelers to Nagpur, including an R&D centre. The MoUs envisage around 80% export orientation, and generation of 6,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.
Gadkari projected Gadchiroli as the anchor for a global-scale steel ecosystem, crediting early investors for stepping into the district when it was largely ignored by industry. "Gadchiroli has the highest quality of iron ore. Major investments came in, and we must thank B Prabhakaran (managing director of Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited) because he went there when nobody dared. Today, the kind of investment plan we have lined up will turn Gadchiroli into the steel hub of not just India, but the world," Gadkari said, underlining the district's role in reshaping Vidarbha's industrial identity.Addressing the inaugural session, Fadnavis said the state govt was focused on correcting long-standing regional imbalances by bringing large investments to Vidarbha and ensuring faster execution. "For many years, despite repeated efforts, we could not bring the automobile industry to Vidarbha. Today, that gap is filled," Fadnavis said, referring to Mahindra & Mahindra's integrated automobile and tractor manufacturing project announced for Nagpur. Fadnavis said the administration would fully back investors who set clear production timelines. "When companies (Mahindra) tell us they want production to start by 2028, our job is to make sure the system works at lightning speed to support them," Fadnavis said.The CM also linked industrial growth to water security, saying the proposed Wainganga–Nalganga river-linking project would transform Vidarbha's agricultural and industrial prospects. "This project will change the face of agriculture in Vidarbha," Fadnavis said, adding that assured irrigation would support agro-based industries, food processing and manufacturing sectors that require dependable water supply.Echoing confidence in Vidarbha's long-term potential, Adani Group director Jeet Adani told the gathering that the group viewed the region as a permanent growth partner. "Our presence in Vidarbha is not transactional; it is generational," Jeet Adani said, as he spoke about building industrial capacity alongside sustainability and livelihoods.Gadkari repeatedly stressed that employment generation was the ultimate measure of success for the investments being announced. "This will create more employment potential. Our effort is that within five years, at least five lakh youths should get employment in Vidarbha," Gadkari said, adding that exports and value addition were critical to sustaining jobs at scale. The Union minister said that growth strategies must be grounded in a clear understanding of sectoral strengths. "We need to understand what the strengths of every field are, where the economic potential lies, where the employment potential lies, and what type of technology can be used to develop growth," Gadkari said.Beyond heavy industry, Gadkari spoke about diversification into agriculture, handloom, textiles and tourism as parallel employment engines. Referring to agriculture-linked initiatives, Gadkari said technology-led interventions in orange cultivation could dramatically boost output. "By using Israeli and Spanish technology and applying AI in agriculture, I am confident that in five years our orange production will increase at least fivefold," Gadkari said. He also cited efforts to revive Nagpur's handloom tradition through training and women-led initiatives, linking heritage industries to new livelihoods.