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Tata Motors, manufacturer of Nano car, on Thursday issued a statement denying any grant received from the Gujarat Government and informed that the financial assistance received from the Government of Gujarat was in the form of a loan, which is to be repaid as per the terms of agreement.
Tata Motors' Nano car and the Gujarat Government have been under the line of fire of the Congress Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi, who has repeatedly alleged the State Government for doling out public money to the car maker for its Nano car project in Sanand.
A Tata Motors spokesperson issued a statement saying: "The investor-friendly environment created by the Government of Gujarat (GoG) encouraged Tata Motors to set up its manufacturing plant in Sanand... Given the scale of the project and its potential to drive growth in the State, the Government of Gujarat offered Tata Motors an incentive package in the form of a loan (not a grant), which is to be repaid to the State Government as per the loan agreement executed."
According to the spokesperson, the loan given to Tata Motors from the Government of Gujarat is from taxes paid by Tata Motors. Until now, the State Government has given a loan of Rs 584.8 crore to Tata Motors.
The Sanand project was part of a long-term vision to make it one of the leading automotive hubs, further enabling Gujarat to contribute to the prosperity and growth of India, the company stated.
"Since the establishment of the Sanand plant, there has been a spurt in economic activity and growth in employment (direct and indirect) within the State, making Gujarat one of the key auto hubs within the country with huge employment generation. The project has also given rise to capital investments which has further resulted in the development of incidental industrial activities and employment generation in small and medium scale industries," Tata Motors added.
In his public rallies during his tour to the poll-bound state, Rahul Gandhi has been comparing the UPA's spending for rural employment programme - MNREGA with alleged financial grant to Tata Motors by the BJP-led Gujarat Government thereby indicating towards a capitalist approach of the State Government.
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