By IANS
Jaipur : Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje unveiled the Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit 2007 here Friday to showcase investment opportunities in the state.
Inaugurating the summit, Raje said: “Our deliberations on a new dawn for Rajasthan will herald the advent of a more vibrant and pulsating economy that will ensure inclusive growth in the state.”
The two-day summit is being jointly organised by the state government and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).
The chief minister said that in the past four years the state has been able to shore up its finances. For the first time since 1991-92, the state budget has showed a revenue surplus in 2006-07, she pointed out.
Responding to observations by Habil Khorakiwala, president, Ficci, Raje said: “We are on course to becoming self-sufficient in power by December 2008 and through a Rs.8,000-crore (Rs 80 billion) feeder renovation programme, electricity transmission and distribution systems are being revamped to ensure quality power supply.”
She added over 500 MW of non-conventional power was already being generated by private units in the state.
The chief minister also said the state government has amended laws to allow contract farming, direct purchase and private markets to encourage innovations in agriculture.
“We are in the process of having at least one engineering college and one polytechnic in every district, and at least one Indian technology institute in every block (sub-district),” the chief minister said.
She released the Tourism Unit Policy 2007 and the Social Sector Viability Gap Funding Scheme, aimed at catalysing private investment in social infrastructure facilities.
The state’s Minister of Industries Narpat Singh Rajvi pointed out that the state had identified thrust areas that include auto and auto ancillaries, textiles, mineral-based industries, IT and ITeS and agro-based units.
Effective steps are being taken to realise the potential in these areas, he maintained.
K.V. Kamath, CEO and managing director of ICICI Bank, noted that the increase in initiatives to develop human capital, physical as well as knowledge infrastructure, and improve the overall investment environment was bound to transform Rajasthan into a regional growth driver.
The future of Rajasthan lies in three growth drivers – tourism, industrial and infrastructure development, and knowledge-based industries, he noted.