Maharashtra is targeting a $1 trillion economy by 2028, making bold strides and outpacing frontrunners like Gujarat and Karnataka. The recent achievement of securing the top spot in FDI for two consecutive reflects Maharashtra’s upward economic trajectory.
Fresh data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) on 6 September has placed Maharashtra in the top position for attracting the highest investment in the country during the first quarter of this fiscal year, with the state securing more than 50 per cent of the total national investment. According to DPIIT, Maharashtra attracted investment worth Rs70,795 crore out of the country’s Rs1,34,959 crore in FDI, making up 52.4 per cent of India’s total FDI.
“Maharashtra, consecutively ranked No. 1 in FDI for the last two years, has secured 52.46 per cent of India’s total FDI in Q1 2024-25,” tweeted Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, applauding this success. “With Rs70,795 crore in investments from April to June 2024, Maharashtra reaffirms its position as India’s top destination for foreign investment”. He recalled that during his tenure as the Maharashtra CM from 2014-19, a total of Rs362,161 crore of foreign investment had come into the state. The DPIIT data comes as a major relief to the Mahayuti government at a time when the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) bloc has been attacking it over investments moving to Gujarat and other states.
This time around, Maharashtra has outpaced a total of eight states, including Karnataka, Delhi, Telangana and Gujarat. Karnataka emerged a distant second, with total FDI investments worth Rs19,059 crore. “We had told from day 1 that we would do five years’ work in just 2.5 years,” Fadnavis added, while sharing this data. “So, in just two years and three months, we have brought in Rs3,14,318 crore investment! Remember, the second quarter numbers are yet to be out”.
Front runner
Maharashtra’s exceptional performance comes at a time when former frontrunners are lagging. The latest DPIIT data also reveals that the FDI received by the state is about eight times more than the total investment received by Gujarat and exceeds the combined sum of Gujarat and Karnataka this year. In 2022-23, Maharashtra also received Rs1,18,422 crore in foreign investments, surpassing the totals of both Karnataka and Gujarat.
Now the question arises: how did this shift occur in Maharashtra’s economy? Over the past decade, the state government has implemented targeted policies that have significantly benefited the economy. Particularly, the initiatives introduced during Fadnavis’s tenure as chief minister laid a strong foundation during the peak years of FDI and business expansion. Now, being at the helm of affairs again, as the deputy CM, Fadnavis continues to advocate for policies that are revolutionising the state’s economic landscape.
Below are some of the key initiatives introduced by Fadnavis:
• MAITRI & ease of doing business (2016). In 2016, Fadnavis launched the Maharashtra Industry, Trade, and Investment (MAITRI) initiative to streamline government-to-business (G2B) services, making it easier for businesses to invest in the state.
• Magnetic Maharashtra Summit (2018). This global summit held in 2018 secured over $184 billion in commitments through 4,100 MoUs. Investments spanned defence, manufacturing, housing, infrastructure, energy and electric vehicles, creating over 3.6 million jobs.
• Sector-specific policies (2023). After returning to power as deputy chief minister, in 2023, Fadnavis prioritised policies for IT, exports, leather, footwear, circular economy and MSMEs. These policies included training and skilling incentives to attract investments.
• The Maharashtra Logistics
Policy (2024). This year, Fadnavis played a pivotal role in bringing in a policy, which aims to make Maharashtra a global logistics hub, by improving infrastructure and connectivity across ports, airports, highways
and railways, while also reducing logistics costs.