‘Maharashtra has lost over 10k small industries to rigid policies’

MUMBAI: Unfriendly policies have cost the state over 10,000 small and medium industries, feels the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) even as it prepares for ���Global Maharashtra���, a conference to encourage entrepreneurship in the state, in January 2009.

Ironically, according to the statistics provided by the chamber, Maharashtra ranks first among states in FDI flows and number of SEZs. Speakers at a press meet to announce the Global Maharashtra conference, on Tuesday indirectly referred to the state���s rigid policies and blamed it for the losses.

Senior vice-president of the chamber Digvijay Kapadia went on to say that Maharashtra has lost nearly 10,000 industries to other states over the years. ���Today, Maharashtra is a preferred investment destination among Indians overseas due to its historic importance as the financial capital of India. Still, the government has failed to cash in on all this,��� he said.

NRIs from Singapore and Dubai, who were in the meeting, later agreed with this view. An NRI said: ���When we approach the state government to set up an industry here, the response we receive is discouraging. This makes the government���s disregard for such entrepreneurship obvious. And if this is not disregard, then it���s nothing but ignorance, which is even more painful.���

MACCIA president Meenal Mohadikar said the globalisation benefits are yet to reach the small and medium enterprises in Maharashtra. The Global Maharashtra meet brings together entrepreneurs and professionals from 60 cities in 30 countries across the world.

MACCIA is organising a two-day conference on ���Global Maharashtra��� in January 2009 in association with the state government, Brihan Maharashtra Mandal of North America and North American Maharashtrian Entrepreneurs. The Maharashtra Mandal, Singapore, Marathi Mandal Sydney, Australia and Maharashtra Mandal, Dubai are also supporting the conference.

Experts from North America, EU, Gulf Co-operation Council, Pacific countries and India would share views on the opportunities and growth strategies in each region.