Jaipur, March 18 Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said on Wednesday that industries and investments are key drivers of economic prosperity, and urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of opportunities in the state to contribute to its development.
Addressing an entrepreneurs' dialogue programme organized on the occasion of Rajasthan Day at the Rajasthan International Centre, Sharma said the state government has created a favorable environment for industries through continuous policy reforms, enabling the state to script a new chapter in industrial growth.
He appealed to entrepreneurs to invest in the state, set up new industries and become partners in its development journey to achieve the goal of a developed Rajasthan in line with a developed India vision.
The chief minister also launched three new policies – the Rajasthan Industrial Park Promotion Policy, the Rajasthan Aerospace and Defence Policy, and the Rajasthan Semiconductor Policy – aimed at boosting industrial development and attracting investment.
Highlighting policy initiatives, Sharma said the government has taken several steps to improve ease of doing business, including reducing the time limit for land-use change from 60 days to 30 days and integrating the Raj Nivesh portal with the national single window system to provide more than 143 services of 14 departments on a single platform.
The state is emerging as a major industrial destination due to investor-friendly policies, and agreements worth Rs 35 lakh crore were signed during the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit, of which projects worth Rs 8 lakh crore have already commenced on the ground, he pointed out.
Sharma said industrial parks have been developed in several regions, while new industrial areas have been opened for land allotment in many districts, including Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh and Ajmer. Logistic parks have also been set up near the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, he added.
Referring to budget provisions, he said the government has announced measures, such as a direct allotment policy, for investors and plans to establish plug-and-play facilities at all divisional headquarters.
He added that 3 lakh youth have got employment opportunities in the private sector under various initiatives.
The chief minister said that in the past two years, the government has established 31 industrial areas and allotted 2,453 industrial plots, claiming the performance surpassed that of the previous government during a comparable period.
Speaking at the event, Industry Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said Rajasthan has gained a new identity in the industrial sector under the leadership of Sharma, with increasing investment opportunities across the MSME and manufacturing sectors.
Minister of State for Industries KK Vishnoi said the government is focusing on emerging sectors, such as semiconductors and rare earths, while expanding infrastructure like corridors, depots and warehouses to strengthen trade and industry.
The chief minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of industrial development works and distributed loan cheques, allotment letters and approval documents to beneficiaries under various schemes, officials said.