Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in a report has suggested Madhya Pradesh government to create an Economic Advisory Council to address the broad spectrum of economic reforms, among other measures to increase its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to $2.1 trillion (₹248.6 lakh crore) by 2047-48 from current $164.7 billion (₹13.6 lakh crore).
Releasing the report during the Global Investors Summit in Bhopal on Monday, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that with a proactive state government dedicated to boosting investment and driving growth, Madhya Pradesh is well-placed to increase its contribution to India’s GDP from the current 4.6 per cent to 6 per cent by 2047-48. The GSDP has to grow at a CAGR of 8.6 per cent.
Further, the report said that manufacturing and industrial expansion must take centerstage in Madhya Pradesh if it wants to achieve the ambitious growth target. “While the agriculture sector currently contributes 43 per cent to MP’s economy, the share of manufacturing must rise from 7.2 per cent to 22.2 per cent by 2047 to sustain long-term growth,” it said.
The report has outlined strategic interventions, categorized into horizontal (cross-sectoral) and vertical (sector-specific) approaches.
The State government should continue to push infrastructure growth by enhancing transportation infrastructure, developing more multi-modal logistics parks, expanding air cargo hubs, and improving air connectivity. Additionally, the state should focus on developing sector-specific industrial parks and smart city infrastructure, as well as building eco-friendly industrial parks to integrate renewable energy sources, the report said.
Availability of skilled workforce
Secondly, priority should be given to availability of skilled workforce especially for employment elastic sectors such as textiles and food processing. “For this, the state government should set up more Skill Parks and encourage industry participation in skill development to address the skill gaps,” it added.
Improving ease of doing business is equally critical to create a robust ecosystem for business, CII said and added that enhancing the efficiency of the Single Window System (SWS) for seamless approvals and clearances can bring significant benefits. “Streamlining land acquisition and registration processes, integrating inspections, and providing timely clearances are crucial steps in this direction,” it said.
Further the report said MP boasts of a thriving ecosystem for MSMEs and start-ups and ranks seventh out of ten top States as far as the number of small-scale enterprises is concerned. The task ahead is that of scaling up MSMEs through improved access to credit through provision of concessional lines of credit, support for improving market access by participating in exhibitions and trade fairs, facilitating export assistance to scale up MSMEs, initiating skill development programmes, facilitating digitisation and technological upgradation, among others.
However, there could be four game-changing interventions such as boosting exports, driving deep tech innovation, facilitating green transition and strengthening the institutional mechanism. “Creating an Economic Advisory Council to address the broad spectrum of economic reforms,” is necessary it said.
Vertical interventions include sector specific strategies for high impact and sunrise sectors such as agribusiness and food processing, pharmaceutical, medical devices and healthcare, petrochemicals and natural gas, tourism, IT & ITeS, defence and aerospace, renewable energy among others.
Meanwhile, inaugurating the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi a developed Madhya Pradesh is necessary in the journey towards Viksit Bharat.
“The whole world is optimistic about India”, Modi said and added that it was for the first time such an opportunity had risen in the history of India. Recalling the recent statement by the World Bank that India will continue to remain the fastest growing economy, the Prime Minister said that a representative from the OECD also remarked that the future of the world is in India.
Fifth largest State
Noting that Madhya Pradesh is the fifth largest State in India by population, he said: “MP is one of the top states in India for agriculture and minerals. It also is blessed with the life-giving Narmada river has the potential to become one of the top five States in India by GDP.”
Two decades ago, people were hesitant to invest in MP, while today, MP has become one of the top States in the country for investments, he added.
