Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla today pledged an investment of Rs 20,000 crore for the state in sectors like retail, telecom and cement.

Addressing the Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit here, Birla said the state is among the top markets for Idea Cellular, which has already invested nearly Rs 7,000 crore over two decades. “So far, our investment in Madhya Pradesh is in the range of Rs 30,000 crore. We have more than 12,000 employees and our ancillary business has generated 25,000 jobs. Going forward, we are looking at investment of Rs 20,000 crore in our various businesses,” he said.

Birla said the group has five world-class facilities, including Grasim and chemical plants, in Madhya Pradesh.

The group’s Idea Cellular covers over 58 per cent of the population, he said, adding that the group remains committed to further expanding this vast network and bringing more people under the coverage of its mobility services in the state. “Idea Cellular was first to introduce wireless broadband services here with the launch of its 3G network in 2011. This is now available with more than 2.8 crore and our intent is to double this coverage over the next 3 years,” Birla said.

Idea provides entrepreneurial opportunities to some 2,300 distributors and 1.45 lakh retailers in the state. The group is also looking at increasing Idea’s 3G and 4G sites and optical fibre cable expansion. “In all our key businesses like viscose fibre, cement, metals, telecom, retail and financial services, we have a significant presence in the state,” he added.

Birla said UltraTech Cement is in the process of acquiring two cement plants at Bela and Sidhi with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

The group is exploring a greenfield cement plant, an investment of Rs 3,000 crore in expansion of Hindalco’s smelter and opening of more retail stores for Pantaloons and Madura Garments, besides foraying into the solar sector, Birla said.

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