Tata lauds Maharashtra govt's development plan

MUMBAI: Industrialist Ratan Tata has lauded the Maharashtra government's efforts to take industrial development beyond Mumbai and Pune.

"Tata, while participating in a round-table meeting at the Maharashtra Investment Forum in New York yesterday, praised the state government's efforts," an official release said here today.

Maharashtra has always given priority to reforms in various fields which has helped boost industrial development, Tata said adding that the state was making concerted efforts to ensure investments were not limited to traditional hubs of Mumbai and Pune.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is on a visit to the US to attract foreign investment, was also present at the meeting.

"Maharashtra was the first to start various initiatives which were later adopted by other states," Tata said, adding that the GDP of the state has been higher than that of the country.

The state was making "sincere efforts in the areas of port, roads, power and housing sectors," he said.

"Maharashtra is a state which gives a prompt and positive response," he told the audience, which mainly comprised foreign investors, corporate officials and industrialists.