Rajasthan has rolled down the red carpet for the first big company to start its new IT city, 50 kilometres away from Gurugram, State’s Industry and IT Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has said. In an interview with businessline, Rathore also said that the State government, in association with the Tata Group, will start work on upgrading 100 ITIs in the State to ensure a skilled labour force for industries. Excerpts:
The State is hosting an investment summit early next month. Why should Rajasthan be an investment destination?
The State has formulated 21 new policies. We have one policy for textile/apparel parks and another for industrial parks. We have a land aggregation policy. Then we have arrangements to provide land based on lottery to smaller units. There is a cluster-based approach for very small units. We also have a system where an investor can identify land on the Rajya Nivesh portal. There will be a fixed cost. The company will also be required to make a technical presentation and based on that land will be given. There is just a condition. Land can’t be left unused for 3 years. We are also looking to set up an industrial park by a private entity.
What about infrastructure?
Two expressways – Delhi to Mumbai and Amritsar to Jamnagar- are passing through the state. Then, 500 kilometres of freight corridor is situated in the State. It also has a big Renewal Energy capacity. We have minerals. We are going to have a petrochemical complex as the HPCL-Barmer refinery is expected to be operational next year. Most important, the state is geographically and politically suitable for the investment.
The state signed MoU with Tata group for upgradation of existing ITIs, when we can expect implementation?
As part of the MoU, ₹10,000 crore is to be spent by the State and the Tata Group. We aim to implement it as soon as all the investment conference and meetings are over. We hope that ITIs will have much better machines for training and preparing the workforce for automobiles and the engineering sector among others. In the next four years, there will be a revolution in employment.
Any new plan for IT sector?
Gurugram is saturated. The cost of living has gone up. Just 50 kilometres from Gurugram is Rajasthan accessible through an expressway and we intend to set up an IT city there. A decade ago, all the big companies set up their infrastructure and offices in cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru or Gurugram. But the scenario is very different now. Today, the vision is for an open space where entirely new offices can be set up and infrastructure established for the next 25 years. Where is that space? And the answer is just 50 km away from Gurugram.
What we are looking at is any big company who comes to us first will get an open signed cheque -- how much land do you want and where do you want it. It will be made available to you. After that, other companies will also come. Youth who are travelling to Hyderabad and Bengaluru should be incentivised to travel here. Also, people who are living in Gurugram can continue doing so to start with and can come for work here. Over some time, cities will develop here too with all the infrastructure.
The land has been identified. We are looking at around 1000 hectares and part of that has already been acquired. We have pockets. Also, land-for-land policy is there. Today, if a company is willing to come, we will immediately provide land.
We have another four years in our first term and we want to ensure that a lot of work is completed in the first term itself so that there is no turning back. If anything is half-hearted, people will try to change it. We want to go beyond the take-off point. We want to start an IT City as soon as the first company comes in.
How would you like to capitalize your efforts during the road shows abroad?
We got tremendous reception abroad. Brand Bharat has already been created. We have FTAs with some countries for investment promotion. For example, the FTA with Switzerland says they have to invest $100 billion investment into India in the next ten years. Similarly, sovereign funds of UAE, Singapore and others are looking to come to India. If these investors have to set foot in any state, we want to ensure that Rajasthan is the best place for them. The state economy is booming. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Rajasthan for 2024-25 is projected to be over ₹17.81 lakh crore in FY 25 which is 17 per cent higher than the last fiscal. With this kind of growth, stable government, land availability, peaceful environment and hardworking labour force, this is the state to come to. Rajasthan aims to play a big role in the PM’s vision of India becoming the 3rd largest economy by 2029 and achieving developed nation status by 2047. The next four years are crucial and with the support of the Central Government, the State will not look back, especially for its youths.