Rajasthan rolls out the red carpet for top brass of Tamil Nadu's industrialists

CHENNAI: A delegation of Rajasthan Government officials led by a state minister, is meeting the top brass of Tamil Nadu's industrialists, including representatives of automakers Ashok Leyland and Hyundai, to showcase opportunities in a 250-acre industrial zone in the Western state.

The trip to Tamil Nadu is part of a nationwide canvassing ahead of an industrial summit slated for November this year. Rajasthan's Industries Minister Gajendra Singh said the pitch was aimed at attracting manufacturers who have markets in the North and the West to set up base in the state to cater to those markets in a cost-effective manner. "Our industrial parts are connected by roads to the National Capital Region, and a new zone for Korean companies is coming up," he told a gathering of industrialists.

Rajasthan, which meets about 23% of its power requirement of 15,000 MW from renewable energies, has had a burgeoning automotive scene after Honda Motor agreed to invest a cumulative Rs 4,000 crore for a plant in a Japanese cluster of factories. The state already has attracted investments from Hero MotoCorp, JCB, and glass manufacturer Saint Gobain.

Officials in the Rajasthan Industries department said about 15 companies of South Korean origin in the field of automotive and automotive electronics want to set up a cluster similar to the Japanese one. The incentives on offer are concessional electricity duties, higher Value Added Tax Reimbursements and land at competitive rates, said Veenu Gupta, an official with the Rajasthan delegation.

Hyundai's only plant in the country off Chennai exports to 85 countries including West Asia, Africa, Asia Pacific and Australia, besides catering to the domestic market. It sold close 39,535 cars in the country.

Besides attracting carmakers, Rajasthan is also talking to wind mill entrepreneurs who have found evacuation to be an insurmountable problem in Tamil Nadu.