Maharashtra Signs MoUs To Push Investments In EV Manufacturing, Mobility

In an attempt to spur the economy, Maharashtra government is pulling all strings to attract more investment. From electric vehicles to oil companies and logistics tech solutions, the state has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 12 companies to attract investments worth INR 16K Cr.

PMI Electro Mobility Solutions and Foton Motors of China has committed to invest INR 1K Cr to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in Pune. The agreement has been signed under the Magnetic Maharashtra initiative to recover the declining state revenue to some extent. The 12 companies operate in sectors such as oil, chemical manufacturing, automotives and electric mobility and logistics tech.

Under the newly signed agreements, UPL has committed to invest INR 5K Cr in five years to manufacture pesticide ingredients in the Raigad district. Great Wall Motors, which recently acquired the General Motors plant in Pune, would invest INR 3,770 Cr. ExxonMobil has committed INR 760 Cr to manufacture lubricants, while Varun Beverages is looking to invest INR 820 Cr. These companies were in talks with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation for the last six months.

Maharashtra’s EV Push

In 2018, Maharashtra came up with an EV policy to develop the state as the leader in EV manufacturing and use of EVs and promote exports of components, vehicles, battery and charging equipment. It aims to increase the number of EVs registered in Maharashtra to 5 Lakh and grab an investment of INR 25K Cr in EV manufacturing and component manufacturing, battery manufacturing/assembly enterprises and charging infrastructure equipment manufacturing in the state. The policy also offers incentives for the purchase of e-buses and buyers and end-users of private vehicles.

It claimed to have received corporate proposals involving investments worth more than $1.46 Bn (INR 10K Cr) for its policy push for cleaner mobility. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Tata Motors, and JSW Energy were among the companies that had shown interest in setting up manufacturing units in the state.

“Three more investment projects in the steel, pulp and paper and electronic system design sectors are in the pipeline. These would entail investments of another INR 8000 Cr. We hope to finalise them soon,” B Venugopal Reddy, principal secretary, Maharashtra industries department, said.

When it comes to partnerships for tech solutions, the central government has also been pulling up its socks. Recently, Centre for Augmenting WAR along with Covid-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) has shortlisted 52 startups to invest in. These startups are developing solutions to tackle the pandemic. Besides this, NITI Aayog has also set up a committee to boost the government’s partnership with private companies to produce health equipment and personal protection equipment (PPE). Almost eight startups are a part of this committee.