Chhattisgarh is new hot-spot for investors: Report

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh got the highest investment in the industrial sector last year followed by Karnataka, Orissa and Gujarat, says the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s (DIPP) latest report.

Edging out traditional investor friendly states like Gujarat, mineral rich Chhattisgarh got proposals and investments of Rs.1.07 trillion between January 2006 and December 2006. It was the highest investment in a single state in the country, an official state government statement claimed on Thursday.

According to the report, Karnataka stood second with an overall figure of Rs.718 billion, followed by Orissa with Rs.694 billion. Gujarat was at fourth place with Rs.661 billion and Andhra Pradesh ranked fifth with Rs 434 billion.

“Chhattisgarh is witnessing a silent industrial revolution. The majority of investments are going to poverty hit areas such as Bastar and Surguja to take the benefits of the revolution to rural masses and village people,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said.

Chhattisgarh has nearly 20 percent of India’s iron ore deposits and about 18 percent of the country’s coal reserves. But more than 45 percent of its 20.8 million people live below the poverty line.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which works under the union commerce industry, was established in 1995 and reconstituted in 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.