India Inc announces $149 bln dollar investment in last 2.5 months

New Delhi, Sep 13 (UNI) Reflecting the robust growth of the economy, India Inc today announced a whopping Rs 6,72,000 crore investment made by companies across all sectors, in the last two-and-a-half months, an Assocham Eco Pulse (AEP) Study revealed.

Among the states that have reported an increase in investments, is Karnataka which emerged as the most favourite state for Corporate India, by announcing investment worth Rs 63,000 crore, most of which shall go into power, petrochemicals and cement.

The other states which received massive investments include Orissa (Rs 47,000 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 36,000 crore), Chhattisgarh (Rs 33,000 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 25,000 crore).

On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Delhi are among the poor performing states in term of capital announcements, as the amount of investment announced is less than Rs 800 crore.

The national capital is loosing its lure for corporates as the adjoining regions like Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad are rising on the preference scale of the industrialist.

Political instability, dicey investment policies, lack of infrastructure remain the biggest hurdles in the capital investment in the states of Bihar and Assam.

The prominent sectors in Karnataka are power, petrochemicals, cement and automobiles. The investor-friendly attitude of government, tax incentives, resource availability and accessibility, increasing market demand, competition from foreign counterparts, are driving the capital investments in the states. The entry of steel giants in the iron-ore rich states of Orissa and Jharkhand have helped in setting a right investment climate in these states.

Among the sectors, energy outplaced the other sectors by reporting capital investment announcements worth Rs 1,78,000 crore, while cashing in on the booming steel industry, giants like Mittal, posco, Jindal Steel and ESSAR have made a beeline to Orissa as their best option.

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