A Profile (Madhya Pradesh)

The Existing Industrial Structure in the State

Madhya Pradesh has entered into an era of high technology industries like electronics, telecommunications, perto-chemicals, food processing & automobiles. It is the first state of the country to start producing optical fibre for purposes of telecommunications. Very large number of automobile units are located in Pithampur which is also known as ' Detroit of India'. The state is leading in soyabean processing & manufacture of cement producing more than100 lakh tonnes.

Major public sector industries in the state are Steel Plant at Bhilai, Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited at Bhopal, Bharat Aluminum Plant at Korba, Security Paper Mill at Hoshangabad, Currency Printing Press at Dewas, Newsprint Mill at Nepanagar and the alkaloid factory at Neemuch.

More and more companies of all sizes seem to share the same opinion. Invest in Madhya Pradesh. Hindustan Lever, TISCO, Raymond, Grasim, Ceat Tyres, Crompton Greaves, Cadbury, Hindustan Motors, Kinetic Honda, L & T, Tata Exports, Century Textiles, Procter & Gamble and Fujutsu Optel are just some of the big names already here. Today 7 of India's top 10 Groups have a sizeable presence in MP, making it among the top 4 states in terms of industrial investment.

What blue chip companies are to shareholders, Madhya Pradesh is to industrialists. A Palace where they can be assured of not just good returns but stability and dividends. And of course unexpected bonuses! Indeed, Starting 1984-85 fresh investments totaling over Rs. 6,000 crores have poured into the large and medium sector.

However it is since the Central Government's liberalization policy of 1991 that the floodgates really opened. Projects worth Rs. 31,000 crores are under implementation. In the last 4 years, over 150 new large and medium sector units have come up, mostly based in the State's new industrial growth centers. MP also has the largest number of small scale units in the country.

Interestingly, a large percentage of new ventures are in hi-tech, innovative fields. Like Microwave Ovens, Printed Circuit Boards, Optical Fibers, Photographic Chemicals, Cardiac Pacemakers, Transmission Towers and Glass Parts for Picture Tubes.

The cost of prime industrial land is amongst the lowest in the country, attracting over 2,700 companies in the 23 industrial growth centers.

.Among the flourishing growth centers are Pithampur near Indore, Malanpur near Bhopal and Siltara and Urla near Raipur. MP's excellent location, bordering onto 7 states, allows easy access to booming national markets in the North, South, East and West.

Yet it has all the advantages of a quiet, uncrowded, green neighbored. Beautiful monuments, dense forests and wildlife sanctuaries are close to most industrial locations, making them perfect weekend getaways.

Indeed, the State has also made a conscious effort to locate industrial growth centres close to major cities to make existing urban housing accessible to industrial units. For industrial units in remote districts, the State provides land at concessional rates for housing projects.