The government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) is promoting a competitive business environment in the state and is developing over 20 new policies this year, including significant revisions to existing regulations, with the aim of attracting global investors and industries in emerging sectors like semiconductors, drone technology, and animation and gaming, as stated by a senior official.
“We are focused on introducing new policies as well as revising the current ones. Our goal is to launch more than 20 policies by 2025 to draw global investors from various sectors such as semiconductors, drones, animation, gaming, and extended reality, thereby transforming the state into an investment hub,” said Madhya Pradesh chief secretary Anurag Jain in an interview with ET.
Jain, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, took on the role of the 35th chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh government in October 2024.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the state aims to “establish itself as a frontrunner in India’s technological revolution,” with new policies aimed at promoting innovation and investment in semiconductors, drone technology, AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality), and Global Capability Centers (GCCs).
According to the senior official, the new policy frameworks will focus on enhancing the ease of doing business (EoDB), creating a strong ecosystem, attracting investments, and driving economic growth.
The state’s semiconductor initiative aims to enhance chip design and manufacturing capabilities while providing various financial incentives, including capital and interest subsidies, land at reduced rates, and lower electricity tariffs.
The government stated that the semiconductor ecosystem will benefit from a multi-pronged approach that includes infrastructure support and skill development initiatives, emphasizing semiconductor design and intellectual property (IP) creation.
Recently, Madhya Pradesh launched India’s inaugural dedicated Global Capability Centers (GCC) Policy 2025, which aims to strengthen the ecosystem.
India currently holds a significant position in the GCC sector, commanding over 50% market share, which is expected to surpass $110 billion by 2030, as reported by EY.
The MP government is working towards enhancing new and emerging sectors while also supporting traditional industries such as automobile, textiles, and pharmaceuticals through a conducive framework aimed at simplifying doing business for enterprises establishing operations in the central Indian state.
“The most critical factor is ease of doing business (EoDB). Madhya Pradesh consistently ranks among the top 5-6 states in the ease of doing business index. Building upon these foundations, the focus of these policies is to provide financial incentives to industries under initiatives like ‘Start Your Business in 30 Days,’ as well as fast-tracking permissions and reducing compliance burdens to allow businesses to commence operations as quickly as possible,” Jain noted.
According to Jain, the industrial parks being developed by the state will come equipped with plug-and-play infrastructure, pre-approved environmental clearances, and provisions for rental housing for workers under a public-private partnership (PPP) model within these parks.
“This unique aspect facilitates the creation of social infrastructure, specifically aimed at the welfare of industrial workers. Skill centers around the industrial zones may be established in collaboration with ITIs, offering specially-curated industry courses to effectively address the skill gap in industrial regions.”
“The state presents a competitive cost structure for various industrial sectors,” Jain added.
The state government continues to collaborate with the Centre for the development of several industrial parks, including Vikram Udyogpuri in Ujjain, PM Mitra Park in Dhar, a multi-modal logistics park in Pithampur, and a manufacturing zone for power and renewable energy equipment in Narmadapuram.
“The industrial zone allocated to Madhya Pradesh by the Central government through a competitive process has now expanded to 880 acres, up from the initially planned 227 acres, reflecting the investors’ enthusiasm in the state,” mentioned Jain.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion is set to hold a two-day investors summit in Bhopal on February 24 and 25, 2025, which will showcase the development of industrial infrastructure and the favorable investment environment, with a particular emphasis on facilitation.
In July of the previous year, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav initiated the ‘Invest MP’ campaign, which included seven regional industrial conclaves that garnered more than 600 expressions of interest, leading to investment proposals exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore for the state.
In efforts to lure large multinational corporations in sectors like semiconductors, electronics, automobile, EV, and renewable energy, Yadav recently traveled to the UK, Germany, and Japan.
