‘Make in India’ week to feature global corporate stars

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, February 8

Heads of state of four countries will join over 1,000 delegates from 60 countries at the Make in India event to be held in Mumbai later this month, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.

The event, to be held at the Bandra Kurla Complex from February 13-18, will attract leaders from Indian industry, including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Sajjan Jindal, and Pavan Goenka, according to officials. In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will join Chief Ministers and top ministers of 12 Indian states for the event.

“Seventeen states will have pavilions at Bandra Kurla Complex showcasing their achievements across various sectors. There will also be three country pavilions. Eleven of the Indian states such as Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra will have their state investment seminars. There would also be 21 sectoral seminars,” said Atul Chaturvedi, joint secretary at the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

Among the countries who will participate in a big way will include Sweden, Finland, Poland, the UAE, Australia, Germany, which will be represented by heads of government or senior officials.

The sprawling MMRDA grounds at the Bandra Kurla Complex will have 27 halls spread over 2.20 lakh sq mts. Arrangements have been made for at least 2,500 bilateral meetings between Indian states, companies and countries.

The Maharashtra pavilion will be the biggest, spread across 10,000 sq ft and showcase industry, textile, smart city plans, tourism, cinema and theatre, and agriculture.

“We want to showcase Mumbai as a financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India. There would be discussion investments in urban infrastructure,” Fadnavis said. He added that the state government will unveil five policies for different industrial sectors during the ‘Make in India’ week such as for retail and electronics.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said foreign direct investment in India grew 38% despite the global slowdown. “FDI in the world is falling. India is the only country where foreign investments are growing. The government has incessantly pushed policy measures to boost manufacturing and today, FDI in India is growing at 38% while globally there’s a sharp fall,” Sitharaman said.