After losing big projects, Maharashtra gets Rs500 crore electronics cluster

NEW DELHI: The Centre has approved a Rs 500 crore project to make Ranjangaon in Pune an electronics manufacturing cluster (EMC) in a move that is being seen as an apparent bid to make up for Maharashtra losing back-to-back big-ticket projects to Gujarat.
Announcing the project, junior electronics and IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday said the cluster will attract major investments from manufacturers, generate thousands of jobs and put the state in the league of locations that have emerged as vibrant electronics production hubs in the country.
The announcement came amid a political slugfest over mining giant Vedanta switching to Gujarat for its Rs 1. 5lakh crore chip factory and Maharashtra also losing out on the Rs 22,000-crore Tata-Airbus transport aircraft project. While ex-Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray has criticised the Eknath Shinde-led government for letting go of these projects, the Maharashtra chief minister has said PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have assured of big projects for the state.
“The total investment of the government in the EMC project will be about Rs 500 crore,” Chandrasekhar said.
The EMC is targeted to attract an investment of over Rs 2,000-3,000crore, with the potential to create 5,000-6,000 jobs in the coming years. India is making an all-out effort to position itself as an electronics and tech manufacturing powerhouse and a global partner in supply chains.
“ It is an advantage of our system that states are competing intensely for investments, that for the investor it is creating a positive environment," Chandrasekhar said, adding that India’s techade opportunity should be viewed as a long-term opportunity.