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Mumbai, June 4 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that Maharashtra is now becoming an important hub not only for Indian but also for international investors, adding that the state is being prepared for future industries and innovations.

He was speaking at the '2025 India Conference: Accelerating Growth, Maharashtra @One Trillion' organised by Bank of America.

CM Fadnavis said, "Maharashtra has benefited the most from the 'Make in India’ policy. Also, the recently successful Operation Sindoor. It has shown how advanced Indian defence manufacturing capability has become.”

He said that although there are defence industry clusters in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra is the real centre of defence manufacturing in India.

“Maharashtra has made great strides in this area, and the state is today becoming a hub for large-scale defence manufacturing. Maharashtra now has about 60 per cent of the country's data centre capacity. Mumbai has already become the country's leading fintech capital, and Maharashtra has also become an important hub for startups,” he said.

He mentioned that investors from all over the world are now looking for safe alternatives, which can play a key role in the global supply chain, and India is in the best position for this opportunity.

According to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra has attracted investments worth over Rs 16 lakh crore during the Davos Economic Summit. More than half of this investment is in the manufacturing sector, which is noteworthy, and the direct impact of 'Make in India' is being seen in the state.

“Considering the limited expansion area along the coast of Mumbai, the concept of ' Fourth Mumbai ' around the upcoming Vadhavan port will be important. India's largest port and a new airport will be built there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the airport there, and its further survey is underway. Also, since there are plans to extend the Bullet Train and Coastal Road to Vdhavan, this area will become a major urban centre,” he said.

He further said that the 22 km Atal Setu has provided fast connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, adding that the work of a new international airport in this area is currently in the final stages and will start in August.

“There is a plan to develop a new city three times larger in this entire belt, where cities with different concepts (themes) will be built. This will include 'Edu-City' (university city), which will include ten international-class universities where a large number of students will get excellent quality education. It will also include concepts like 'Sports City', 'Medicine City', 'Knowledge City', and 'Innovation City’. It is planned to set up a state-of-the-art cybersecurity centre in the state, and through this centre, various types of cyber crimes will be controlled in a unified manner.”

CM Fadnavis said that beyond the traditional industrial hubs of Mumbai, Thane and Pune, the state government has now increased the pace of industrial investment in tier 2 and 3 cities.

“Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has now become a hub for the EV (Electric Vehicle) industry, and many big companies have invested. A conducive environment is being created here for economic growth. Gadchiroli is being built as the new steel city of the country, where an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore has come. Cities like Nagpur, Nashik and Dhule are also seeing huge investments in IT, manufacturing and other sectors,” he added.

--IANS

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