Exhorting people here to revisit their roots, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that smart cities could be built out of the beautiful old cities of the State, especially in the Shekhawati region, where most of the people now living here belong.
Speaking at a roadshow aimed at wooing investment, she observed that many people of Kolkata have roots in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. This area has many beautiful havelis and smart cities can be created out of beautiful old cities. Many forts could also be developed, she said. The session was barred to the press in view of West Bengal’s ongoing civic elections.
Pointing out that “the people of Rajasthan and Kolkata have shared a special relationship for centuries”, Ms Raje said: “We are proud of this bond…we hope to develop a more robust partnership by inviting investments from West Bengal and the rest of Eastern India, of which this city is a pre-eminent business hub.”
“Rajasthan provides a great opportunity to the investors to expand their business, reliably source material and establish new manufacturing facilities”.
While the city-meet is part of a series of roadshows in India and abroad in a run-up to the Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit in November, Ms Raje said that she has received encouraging response from Singapore and Japan.
Some major industries which have come up in Rajasthan include Saint Gobain, Honda, Daikin and JCB. Ms Raje’s government is looking at housing where policies are being revamped. The CM wants to develop Jaipur into a tourism hub. She is also looking at Digital Rajasthan.
Government officials present at the meet highlighted the labour reforms initiated by the State, saying that it was a role model for labour reform. Customised incentives were available for large units.
Sectors open for investment in Rajasthan are automobiles, renewable energy, IT& ITES, ceramics, tourism agro, defence and smart cities. The CM and her team met many city-based industrialists later. The event was supported by two city trade and industry bodies.
