By IANS,
New Delhi: Pitching Maharashtra as an attractive investment destination, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Saturday called upon overseas Indians to invest in the state’s skill development and education programmes.
“Much more international involvement is needed to improve and expand skill development, and education in general,” Chavan said here at a plenary session on skill development on the concluding day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2010, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora.
“I believe overseas Indians can, must and will join us in this great endeavour. You can do so with your financial resources, to establish chairs, or institute scholarships or endowments,” he said.
This apart, Chavan said overseas Indians could also contribute with their intellect, training and technology, management skills and their global experience.
Stating that the economic achievements of the state have been possible only because of many years of focus on human resource development, Chavan said: “At the base of the pyramid, the literacy rate is much higher than the national average. Although we have a long way to go to achieve global standards, in the last few years female literacy has risen sharply.”
According to the chief minister, Maharashtra’s economy is the most globally connected in India.
“Since the start of delicensing in 1991, the state has attracted nearly a quarter of the country’s FDI (foreign direct investment) approvals,” he said.
“This trend continues. In fact, Maharashtra was the destination of choice for as much as 53 percent of the FDI inflows into India in the last financial years,” he added.