Governor of Maharashtra Shriman C Vidyasagar Rao Ji, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, industrialists and other dignitaries from India and abroad who are present here, all of you are welcome to the Magnetic Maharashtra,

Samruddha Ani Sampanna Maharashtracha Nirmiti Karta Honara Magnetic Maharashtrala Majha Khup Khup Shubhechchha

Bandhu Bhaginino Sarvana Majha Namaskar

        I don’t know much about the finer details of Science but I’ve been told that a magnetic field have both direction and magnitude. I attended the programmes related to Navi Mumbai airport and JNPT before coming here. Those two programmes show both the Maharashtra”s direction and magnitude of the magnetic field.  Besides it’s a fact that the closer you are to the center the more you experience the power of the magnetic field. Today, your enthusiasm, zeal and this environment of excitement are the proofs of how powerful the magnetic lines of Magnetic Maharashtra are.

      Friends, this event is an excellent example of cooperative-competitive federalism, Today, there is a kind of competition, a kind of contest among all the states of the country. This kind of events have been organised in different states of the country to attract investment in the sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, textile, healthcare, education, solar energy and several other sectors. States have been focusing on the need for investment in different sectors as per their requirements.

       Recently I got the opportunity to participate in the ‘Advantage Assam - Investors Summit’. Several years ago nobody could have thought that this kind of excellent branding can be done about the investment in North-East.

         Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and several other states have been organising this kind of events. Now the impact of the series which started in Gujarat can be seen across the country.

      Friends, I heartily congratulate the government of Maharashtra for organising this event. The government of Maharashtra has taken new initiatives in the last three years to strengthen the investment climate in the state. Its efforts have greatly contributed to upgrading of the state’s World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking. The reforms carried out by the Fadnavis government have played an important role in transforming Maharashtra. The improvement in the 9 out of 10 parameters of Ease of Doing Business ranking like ease of getting electricity and ease of paying taxes; all these things in themselves are a huge noticeable factor.

      This kind of comprehensive reforms can only be there when a new work culture in governance is developed through policy reforms. When de-bottlenecking of projects are done to solve the problems faced by the projects; when inter-departmental cooperation is increased and when decisions are taken within the time limit.

      The magnetic field about which I was talking earlier, that is created in this manner only. Its impact becomes visible on the investment in the state, on the development of the state. And this was the reason that Maharashtra was ahead of any other state of the country in terms of total expenditure in infrastructure projects. Maharashtra was declared the number one state in the country in terms of overall development according to Frost and Sullivan’s ranking. Nearly 51 per cent of the total investment that came into the country in 2016-17, flowed into Maharashtra alone. Similarly, when Make in India Week was celebrated here in February 2016 the agreements worth nearly four lakh crore rupees were signed under the industry segment. And the work on projects worth two lakh crore rupees has started.

      Today, the ongoing infrastructure projects in Maharashtra have been attracting the attention of the entire world. Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project has been reckoned as one of the 100 most innovative projects in the world. The construction of Navi Mumbai airport, the construction of Mumbai Trans Harbor Link is going to bring about a massive change in the lives of millions and millions of people living in this area. In addition to this, nearly 350 kilometer long metro network that is going to be developed in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur is going to create new possibilities of both investment and development in the region.

      Friends, now I would tell you about a special project and that is: Maharashtra Samruddhi Corridor. The project aims at taking the state’s rural areas, its agriculture and agro-based industries to new heights of development. The construction of 700 kilometer long super communication expressway in Maharashtra and development of 24 new nodes on the sides of the expressway on the lines of smart cities; all  these things have the potential of creating new employment opportunities for at least 20 to 25 lakh people.

       I’m happy that the government of Maharashtra has set the target of becoming the first state of the country with a trillion dollar economy. No target is difficult to achieve on the land of Shivaji Maharaj. And I’m confident that the government of Maharashtra will achieve the target by his blessings and Maharashtra will become the first state of the country with a trillion dollar economy.

      Friends, I believe that development of the country is possible only when the states are developed. Development of Maharashtra is a symbol of India’s growing capability that we are able to set this kind of huge targets. This is a living example of the changed situation, changed thinking of the country.

        I still remember how big headlines were made when for the first time India had entered into the club of trillion dollar economies. However, after a few years that growth trajectory reversed due to scams. Then a different kind of environment prevailed in the country. The issue of trillion dollar club was not discussed but only the issue of fragile five was discussed.

       Now again the story of five trillion dollar club is being discussed as a result of the government’s constant efforts in the last three and a half years. The top rating agencies of the world are saying that India will join the five trillion dollar club in the next few years.

       Friends, this confidence has not come easily. There is a vision, there are efforts behind this momentum to create a people friendly, development friendly and investment friendly atmosphere. We have taken governance to that level where the interference from the government has become the minimum.

       Friends, country makes progress only when there is a holistic vision, when that vision is inclusive and comprehensive. Today, we have moved in that direction where the state is driven by policy, where governance is performance driven and where government is accountable, and where the democracy is a participative democracy. In order to make a New India, we have been developing a transparent ecosystem in the country which is least dependant on the government machinery. In order to achieve this thing the rules have been simplified, and the laws have been amended where there had been a need to amend the laws. And the laws have been       repealed where there was a need to repeal the laws.

      Some of you would certainly be aware that the government of India has repealed more than 1,400 laws in the last three years. And it has been ensured while formulating news laws that they don’t further complicate things and actually simplify things. We have been trying to reduce human interface in governance. We have been working to make all the processes easier by using technology be it labour laws or tax compliance. 

        Friends, today, it is the speed of implementation of projects be it in construction of  national highways or laying of new railway lines or electrification of railway lines or construction of houses by the government or addition of solar power capacity ; I can name fifty more areas where the speed of implementation has doubled or tripled.

        Friends, while on the one hand we have insured optimum utilisation of resources and on the other we have moved forward towards resource based developmental policies and we have been laying emphasis on the budget based on developmental polices. The reforms carried out by our government in the budget and the way we have reformed the thinking associated with budget, these things have not been only developing a new work culture in the country but it has also been transforming the social-economic life.

        Rail budget has now become a part of general budget. We have demolished the artificial wall of plan and non-plan which was there earlier. The time of presentation of budget has also been advanced by a month. Because of all these decisions the money allocated to departments is given to them before time and now the departments get more time to implement the schemes. The delay in executing the work which was caused by Monsoon has been considerably reduced. It has been ensured in our budgets year after year that whatever structural reforms and policy interventions have been carried out by the government should benefit the country’s farmers, poor people, people belonging to scheduled castes and backward communities and the marginalised sections of the society.

       Friends, our Budget is not limited to outlay, our Budget is not limited to only output.  The focus of our Budget is on outcomes. We have already been working on providing housing to all by 2022 and power to all by 2019. In this year’s budget the work on two projects – clean fuel for all and health for all - has been further speeded up. We have increased the target of providing free gas connections to poor households under the Ujjwala scheme from five crore to eight crore families. Out of the total number of around 25 crore households in India eight crore families are going to get free gas connection. These are not just the schemes but they show the direction we are moving to. You would notice that the social and economic welfare of the poorest of the poor person of the country and the philosophy of social and financial inclusion is the basis of our budget. Schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachch Bharat Mission, Skill India, Digital India, Mudra scheme, Stand up India, Start up India have been empowering the poor, lower middle class, middle class, youth and women of the country.

        Friends, the big initiative related to health care which we have announced is attracting the attention of the entire world. Top corporate houses of the country and their management are present here. You would be aware that the employees of private companies getting what kind of salary are entitled to a health insurance cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh for the entire family. Usually, the employees in the income bracket of Rs. 60-70,000 to Rs. 1 -1.5 lakh per month get this kind of insurance cover.

        Now this is the kind of government which has decided to provide health insurance of Rs. 5 lakh per family to the poorest of the poor family of the country under Ayushman Bharat Yojana. And nearly 10 crore families which means more than 50 crore peole are going to get its benefits. This scheme will protect people from double whammy of extreme financial hardships caused by chronic diseases.

We have decided to open 1.5 lakh wellness centres in the major village Panchayats of the country under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. You can imagine how these decisions will change the healthcare system of the country. The scheme will prove to be very important for the country’s affordable healthcare institutions, and also for the new doctors, new paramedic staff and for every person associated with the health care sector.

      We have started a new initiative to strengthen the education infrastructure in the country. Our government has been moving forward by formulating a scheme to improve the education system of the country in four years by spending one lakh crore rupees. Similarly, we have been expanding the scope of Mudra scheme to encourage the self employment among the country’s youth and particularly the entrepreneurs working in the MSME sector. Nearly 10.50 crore loans have been sanctioned so far in our country since the beginning of the scheme. Loans worth Rs. 4.60 lakh crore have been given to the people without any bank guarantee. In this year’s budget too we have decided to give Mudra loans worth Rs. 3 lakh crore.

     This kind of missions have been improving the ease of living of the poor and middle class of the country. The more this ease of living will improve the more will  people be empowered. The more people are empowered the faster our social and economic development will be. For example if I talk about the rural sector of the country then in this year’s budget we have decided to spend more than Rs. 14 lakh crore on agriculture sector and for development of rural infrastructure. Although this fund will be spent on farming activities but it will also be used in building more than 3 lakh kilometer long rural roads and for constructing 51 lakh new houses and nearly 2 crore new toilets and also for providing electricity connections to 1.75 crore poor households.

      All these efforts will boost the agricultural growth in any case but they will also generate opportunities for creating millions of employment in the rural sector. This year we have also increased the budget for infrastructure spending by more than one lakh crore rupees. New bridges, new roads, new metro, new airports that will meet a lot of aspirations of the maximum city like Mumbai and specially the aspirations of the middle class of the country.

       Friends, we will have to chart our future course by considering disruptions and discontent in the global world and also by considering the future requirements along with the present ones. And we will have to do it together. When we will work by considering the requirements of the country and by understanding the aspirations of the people of the country only then we can realise our dream of making a Nextw India. Only then we can do justice with the huge demographic dividend of the country.  I am hopeful that the government of Maharashtra, the bureaucracy of the state, and millions and millions of people of the state will fulfill their solemn pledges and they will do it within the stipulated time.

     Now I  want to end my speech expressing my gratitude to those behind Magnetic Maharashtra and the hard working people and industrialists of the state. Once again I convey my heartfelt best wishes for this event.

      I would like to assure all the dignitaries from India and abroad who are present here that the government of India is committed to the development of the country by working together with the state governments. You can very well imagine that how much it will benefit the world if it benefits the one sixth of the world population.

Thank you very much.

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