Business
Maha govt signs 31 MoUs for investment proposals worth Rs 6,25,457 crore at Davos
Mumbai, Jan 22: The Maharashtra government has signed a record 31 MoUs with investment proposals worth Rs 6,25,457 crore in the field of steel, metals, renewable energy, infrastructure, cement, Lithium-Ion Batteries and Solar Modules on the sidelines of World Economic Forum summit at Davos.
The MoUs were signed on Tuesday in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior government officers.
CM Fadnavis said, “The MoU signed today paves the way for Maharashtra’s comprehensive growth and development.” He further stated that this marks a new record for securing such a significant investment amount in a single day. Similarly, several investment agreements are expected on the second day as well.
Of the Rs 6,25,457 crore, JSW will invest a record Rs 3 lakh crore for Maharashtra’s Green Transformation and Tata Group will also make an investment of Rs 30,000 crore in multiple sectors.
The Chief Minister met with key executives of several companies and invited them to invest in Maharashtra. Among these, Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran held discussions with CM Fadnavis during which it was confirmed that the Group would invest Rs 30,000 crore in the state. The CM also met Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen, who expressed interest in investing in Maharashtra.
The Chief Minister assured him of full cooperation for the group’s plans. Additionally, M.A. Yusuff Ali, Managing Director of the Lulu Group, conveyed interest in investing in Nagpur and expanding operations in Maharashtra.
CM Fadnavis held discussions with ReNew Power Chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha about a 15,000 MW pipeline and wind energy projects in the Beed district. Schneider Electric India’s Managing Director and CEO Deepak Sharma also met the Chief Minister. Discussions included the use of AI in the energy sector and strengthening ITIs in the state with assistance from the World Bank. Expansion plans in Ahilyanagar and Nashik were also hinted at. Mastercard APAC President Ling Hai held talks with CM Fadnavis, while Louis Dreyfus Company CEO Michael Gelchie discussed opportunities in agriculture, food processing, international shipping, and financial sectors. Emphasis was placed on enhancing collaboration in agriculture. The CM also met Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S. and discussed potential investments and opportunities.
“The series of meetings highlighted Maharashtra’s focus on attracting substantial global investments and fostering economic development,” said the Chief Minister’s Office in a release.
CM Fadnavis in his post on X said, “Extremely happy to witness the historic Rs 3,00,000 crore MoU signing between Govt of Maharashtra & JSW Group, with an employment generation of 10,000 in the regions of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Gadchiroli, and Nagpur. Very much thankful to Sajjan Jindal ji for being a part of this historic moment at Davos, which will give a huge boost to Maharashtra’s industrial environment. It will give a big boost to Maharashtra’s industrial environment. The areas of this investment like Renewable Energy, Infrastructure, Cement, Lithium-Ion Batteries, and Solar Modules will play a huge role in our mission ‘Green Maharashtra.”
The government signed an MoU with Waaree Energy with a total investment of Rs 30,000 crore in green energy and solar components. it will create 7,500 jobs. The company chairman Hitesh Joshi was present.
The government inked an MoU with Blackstone-Panchshil Realty for an investment of Rs 25,000 crore for the development of the data centre. It will generate 500 jobs. Further, Blackstone will invest Rs 25,000 crore in Information Technology in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It will create 1,000 jobs.
The government inked an MoU with Erulearning Solutions for an investment worth Rs 20,000 crore in education. The government signed an MoU with ZR2 Group for investment worth Rs 17,500 crore in automobiles and EVs in Pune region to generate 4,000 jobs.
The state government and Balasore Alloys Ltd signed an MoU for investment of Rs 17,000 crore in steel and metals. The venture will generate 3,200 jobs. The company was represented by Satish Kaushik at the time of the signing of the MoU.
The state government and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd signed an MoU for investment worth Rs 16,500 crore in the defence sector. It will generate 2,450 jobs. The company was represented by Sateesh Seth.
Powerin Urjaa will invest Rs 15,299 crore in green energy and generate 4,000 jobs. Open Origin India Inc will invest Rs 15,000 crore in green energy to create 1,000 jobs.
Viraj Profiles Pvt Ltd and the state government inked an MoU for the investment of Rs 12,000 crore in steel and metals to generate 3,500 jobs. Neeraj Raja Kochhar, Chairman and MD of Viraj Profiles was present at the time of the signing of the MoU.
Avani Power Batteries will make investment of Rs 10,521 crore in electronics to generate 5,000 jobs in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. H2e Power will invest 10,750 crore in green energy to create 1,850 jobs in Pune region.
The government signed an MoU with Rural Enhancers for investment worth Rs 10,000 crore in social sectors including hospitals.
The government inked an MoU with Welspun for an investment worth Rs 8,500 crore in logistics to generate 17,300 jobs.
Essar in partnership with Blue Energy will invest Rs 8,000 crore in green energy to create 2,000 jobs.
Further, United Phosphorus will make an investment of Rs 6,500 crore in green energy to generate 3,000 jobs. The government signed an MoU with Olectra EV for investment worth Rs 3,000 crore in automotive and EV to generate 3,000 jobs.
Kalyani Group will invest Rs 5,250 crore in defence, steel and EV. It will create 4,000 jobs. The MoU was signed in the presence of CM Fadnavis and Vice-Chairman & Joint MD of Bharat Forge Limited Amit Kalyani. “Thank you Amit Kalyani for joining this MoU signing at Davos! This investment is special because it is coming to Gadchiroli, which will give better lives to so many,” said the chief minister.
Gensol will invest Ra 4,000 crore in electronics in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to create 500 jobs. The government inked an MoU with & El Mont for the investment of Rs 2,000 crore in infrastructure. It will generate 5,000 jobs. The company director Kabir Bhandari was present.
BookMyShow will invest Rs 1,700 crore in the entertainment sector to generate 500 jobs. Further, the government signed an MoU with Tembo for an investment worth Rs 1,000 crore in the defence sector. It will create 300 jobs. The company director Shabbir Merchant was present on the occasion.
The government also inked an MoU with AB InBev in the F&B segment for investment worth Rs 750 crore. Kartikeya Sharma, President, India & South East Asia of AB InBev was present on the occasion.
Moreover, the government inked an MoU with CEAT Limited for investment worth Rs 500 crore in automotive and EC to generate 500 jobs.
Bisleri International will invest Rs 250 crore in food and beverages in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to create 600 jobs. The MoU signed paves the way for Maharashtra’s comprehensive growth and development.
Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police continues to uncover shocking details in the ₹122 crore scam at New India Cooperative Bank. The latest investigation has revealed that the main accused, Hitesh Mehta, illegally disbursed bank funds as high-interest loans to depositors during the Covid-19 period in 2020.
According to EOW sources, many small traders suffered severe financial losses during the pandemic and were in urgent need of funds. Exploiting their vulnerability, Mehta provided them loans worth crores at exorbitant interest rates, bypassing legal banking procedures.
The EOW is now investigating the exact number of traders who received these unauthorized loans and the total amount disbursed. A senior EOW official stated that Mehta, a commerce graduate, joined the bank in 1987 and was later promoted to General Manager and Chief Accountant in 2002. He was set to retire in October this year, but his massive fraud was exposed beforehand.
Sources reveal that an EOW team will soon visit the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to meet with senior officials. The purpose of the meeting is to understand why the RBI conducted a sudden inspection at the bank on February 12 and what triggered the surprise audit.
Additionally, EOW officials will seek a detailed report from the RBI and question why no action was taken earlier, despite financial irregularities occurring since 2019. The investigation is ongoing, and further revelations are expected in the coming days.
New Delhi, March 14: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday on Friday said that he “had a forward-looking discussion with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement” between India and the US.
“Our approach will be guided by ‘India First’, ‘Viksit Bharat’ and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Goyal posted on X along with a photo of his meeting Greer.
Goyal had previously met Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during his visit to the US last week. This followed US President Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi’s talks on negotiating the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025.
The two leaders resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security, and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – “Mission 500” – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
US Trade Secretary Lutnick said recently that he was keen to negotiate a broad-based trade agreement with India, taking into account the entire trade relationship rather than individual products.
Meanwhile, the government has informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs that India has not made any commitment to reduce tariffs on goods imported from the USA.
In a briefing on the issue, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told the Parliamentary committee that negotiations between India and the US were still ongoing and that no trade agreement had been finalised.
The Commerce Secretary’s clarification came in the wake of US President Trump’s statement that India has agreed to bring “way down” its tariffs on US goods.
Barthwal said: “One cannot go by the US President’s claims and on media reports as the bilateral trade agreement talks between the two nations are still on. India has not committed to anything on trade tariffs to the US.”
He also made it clear that India’s interests were of paramount importance and would be taken care of during the trade negotiations.
Barthwal said that India was in favour of increasing bilateral trade with the USA but would not indiscriminately lower tariffs, especially in sectors crucial to its domestic economy.
“India prefers to negotiate tariff reductions bilaterally rather than multilaterally to ensure national interests are upheld,” Barthwal told the committee.
Trump’s ‘America First’ policy has the potential to disrupt world trade as the US President has accused trading partners of unfair practices and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on a large scale. He has accused India of levying massive tariffs on US goods.
New Delhi, March 14: Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. has initiated the process for the certification and homologation of two of its electric cars in India, which is an essential requirement for all vehicles before they can be sold in the country.
Tesla India Motor & Energy Pvt. Ltd., the local unit of Musk’s firm, has submitted two new applications for homologation of the Model Y and Model 3 cars in India, according to industry sources.
Homologation is the process of certifying that a vehicle is roadworthy and meets the norms laid out for all vehicles manufactured in India or imported into the country. The tests ensure that the vehicle matches the requirements of the Indian market in terms of emission and safety and roadworthiness in accordance with the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
The company had earlier submitted seven applications for homologation in India earlier which were meant for test cars. An eighth application was approved recently.
The move comes amid talks with the US and India on a free trade agreement under which tariffs are expected to be lowered by both countries to enhance bilateral trade.
Musk has been keen to enter India as he is looking for a foothold in the world’s third-largest car market as an alternative to China, after the communist country came under strict US sanctions.
While the Indian government is keen that Musk set up a plant in India to make Tesla for the local market, the billionaire wants to export the car to the country without any immediate manufacturing plans.
Electric car sales in India recorded a 20 per cent jump to 99,165 units in 2024, from 82,688 units in 2023. Tata Motors and JSW MG Motors are currently the market leaders.
In addition, the luxury electric vehicle market also posted an increase in sales during the year, with 2,809 EVs sold by BMW, Mercedes Benz India, Volvo Cars India, Audi, and Porsche in 2024, up from 2,633 units in 2023.
According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the electric passenger vehicle retail sales in India grew by nearly 20 per cent.
The EV market is expected to continue growing, with industry forecasts predicting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43 per cent.
Government initiatives and subsidies under the PM E-Drive scheme are also contributing to the growth of the EV market in India, as the country transitions to green energy in the fight against climate change.
The electric two-wheeler segment recorded significant growth, with 1.13 million units sold in 2024, up from 860,000 units in 2023.
The overall EV penetration in the country increased to 7.46 per cent in 2024, up from 6.39 per cent in 2023.
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