20 lakh new jobs in Maharashtra by 2010: Jairath

Mumbai, Dec 20 (UNI) Around 20 lakh new jobs will be created in Maharashtra by 2010 as part of the new industrial policy, state Industry secretary V K Jairath said today.

Talking to UNI on the sidelines of the 5th CII Manufacturing Summit here, Mr Jairath said the new Industrial Policy, which has come into force since November 1, envisaged 10 per cent growth in jobs in the industrial sector and 12 per cent growth in the services sector within one year from now.

''The new policy aims at balancing regional growth with an emphasis on employment generation,'' he said. The policy also addressed the issues of poverty alleviation, he added.

Quoting a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report, Mr Jairath said the RBI has stated that Maharashtra alone attracted 20.10 per cent of the total investment in the country last year.

As much as Rs 34,000 crore investments flowed into the State during 2005-06, and among the mega-investors were Volkswagen, General Motors, Bajaj, Mahindra&Mahindra and others, he said.

Mr Jairath said Maharashtra focussed on those districts, like Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Nanded, which were lagging behind in the Human Development Index (HDI).

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