Top Indian states for business

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have emerged as the country's top two investment destinations for domestic private sector firms, with the southern state being the only area to have attracted capex plan commitments in excess of Rs one trillion in the first half of 2008.

Andhra (which attracted Rs 1,08,559 crore investment) is followed by West Bengal with total capex plans commitments worth over Rs 93,000 crore during the same period, according to a latest survey by industry chamber Assocham.

The figures are for the period before the domestic conglomerate Tatas pulled out their ambitious Rs 1,500-crore Nano car project from the state.

In its "Regional Investment Announcements" study, the chamber said that the eastern region came on the top for attracting private sector investment announcements, followed by Southern and Western regions.

"One-time vibrant Northern India for investors has slipped to a poor position number four in terms of luring investments by the private players," it said. Central region, comprising of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, was ranked last with the minimum share of 8.87 per cent in the total investment announcements.

The state of Chattisgarh accounted for capital outlay worth Rs 67,212 crore while Madhya Pradesh with capex plans worth Rs 26,042 crore for the period Jan-June 2008.

"Having huge mineral deposits and investor friendly policies, the eastern region witnessed capex announcements by the Indian corporate players to the tune of Rs 223,464 crore during January-June," it said. Orissa attracted Rs 88,902 crore and Jharkhand Rs 32,000 crore in the period, it said.