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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the Magnetic Maharashtra Convergence Summit 2018 at BKC Complex, which aims to bring investments to the tune of ₹10-lakh crore to the State. This will include a ₹60,000-crore investment in an Integrated Industrial Area, a $7-billion dollar direct investment to finance the Mumbai-Nagpur Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor, and a Hyperloop transportation system connecting Pune and Mumbai.
Modi said Maharashtra was ahead in infrastructure spending among all other States in 2017. Last year, 51 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was invested in the State.
Modi underscored that in the last three years a lot of efforts have been taken by the Maharashtra government in facilitating the ease of doing business, resulting in a better global ranking. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project (DMIC) is seen as one of the unique infrastructure projects globally, while Maharashtra Samruddhi corridor project has the ability to hugely develop the rural agriculture hinterland and provide 30-lakh employment opportunities.
Other highlights
Among the highlights of the summit was the commitment of an experimental Hyperloop transportation system by Richard Branson-led Virgin Hyperloop One. The Maharashtra government has signed a framework agreement with Virgin Hyperloop One.
Although the transportation system is still at an experimental state, Branson said that the system hopes to connect central Pune with Mumbai in flat 15 minutes and will make India a global leader in such systems. Studies have found that the route can generate $55 billion in socio-economic benefits. It will also greatly reduce accidents and carbon emissions, he said.
Also addressing the summit, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, Mukesh Ambani, said that Reliance is ready to take the Jio to the next level with an even more ambitious initiative. It will make Maharashtra the birthplace and the cradle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in India.
He announced that Reliance will establish India’s first ever Integrated Industrial Area for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Maharashtra. Reliance will invest, along with a coalition of global companies, more than ₹60,000 crore over the next 10 years in this collaborative initiative.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a convergence of disruptive technologies in the physical, digital and biological spheres. There is a global race to harness Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Next-Generation Virtual and Augmented Reality, Life Sciences, New Materials and New Sources of Energy and other technologies of the future, he said.
Ambani said that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will help Maharashtra and India solve the most difficult problems in socio-economic development.
Most importantly, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will generate millions of new attractive employment opportunities for the youth of Maharashtra and India.
Chief Minister of Maharastra, Devendra Fadnavis, said that the summit is a convergence of ideas of business leaders, political leaders and thought leaders.
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