India is a country with a rich and varied cultural heritage and is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It is divided into twenty eight States and seven Union Territories based on the diversity in culture and geography of the regions. Each State/UT of India has a unique demography, history, art and craft, dress, festivals, language etc. which provides numerous opportunities for the investors the world over. They are endowed with large number of places of tourist interests like beautiful landscapes, wildlife and forests, hills, plateaus, valleys, monuments, forts, palaces, temples, etc. Each State have distinct inherent strengths, ranging from abundant supply of mineral resources and large forest reserves to the availability of good fertile lands, which are suitable for growing variety of agricultural and horticultural crops.
Several world-renowned companies/ industries exist in these States which encourage large investments into the country. They are largely confined to iron and steel, cement, textiles, agro-processing, mineral-based industries, drugs and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics, automobiles, etc. Various State Governments have also recognised Information Technology (IT) industry as an integral part of the economy, thereby attracting new players into the market. IT revolution is committed to provide good governance that ensures transparency, reduction in transaction costs, efficiency and citizen centric delivery of public services. Therefore, the Government is making all efforts to facilitate the growth of such industries and promote overall development of the economy.
Most importantly, the State Government has undertaken several policy measures and incentives so as to provide ample business opportunities. These policies seek to create much-needed investment friendly environment in the States, highlight the major foreign direct investment (FDI) sectors and thus reflect the true position of the State economy. For instance, the Industrial Policy has been formulated with a view to accelerate industrialization process of the State. While, Information Technology (IT) policy has been framed to bring private investments into the IT sector and develop a roadmap for e-governance. Such developmental policies also aim to adopt strategies for enabling the residents of States to take full advantage of the employment opportunities.
However, for improvement of the quality of life of the people of the State as well as promote rapid industrialization and balanced development, infrastructure facilities are highly required. The quality of infrastructure is widely regarded as an essential determinant of growth in the States. Agricultural growth depends upon rural infrastructure such as the spread and quality of irrigation, land development, extent of rural electrification and the spread of rural roads. While, non-agricultural growth highly depends upon sectors such as electric power, road and rail transportation, ports and airports as well as telecommunications. All these services increase the productivity of existing resources going into the production and helps to attract more investments. Moreover, it is responsibility of the State Governments to provide such critical infrastructure facilities required for the industrial and commercial development of the State, for instance, making available the power at an appropriate price and of acceptable quality.
Hence, the economic growth and development of the country is highly dependent on the administrative set up, agricultural and industrial base; human resources as well as infrastructural network of all the States/ UTs. Accordingly, several opportunities and incentives are offered to them, from time to time, so as to motivate investors to invest therein. Some of the major States/UTs of India, which attract large investments are given below.
