Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said India would emerge as the new manufacturing hub of the world and Maharashtra was leading the way.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said India would emerge as the new manufacturing hub of the world and Maharashtra was leading the way. He inaugurated the new plant of Force Motors at Chakan in Pune. He has also said the state government would provide all the required support to industries.
The plant was formally inaugurated by Mr Fadnavis in the presence of Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar. The company, which plans to invest another Rs 100 crore in order to meet the stricter BS VI emission norm by 2020, will supply exclusively to Mercedes from the new plant.
“Maharashtra is the leader in industrialisation in the country and the state government is strongly backing businesses. China is known as the world’s manufacturer. But now India is poised to take over China in manufacturing and Maharashtra is going to play an important role in it,” Mr Fadnavis said.
The Maharashtra CM further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative was becoming a reality and the Force Motors plant, which makes engines for Mercedes, is testimony to that. “The youth in Maharashtra is capable of reaching new heights. The state government is making all efforts to provide skill-development training to enhance their capabilites,” he said.
Mr Fadnavis also expressed confidence that Pune would soon leave behind Bangalore as a startup hub.
Force Motors has been the preferred partner for producing engines for all Mercedes-Benz automobiles and SUVs made in India since 1997. The new plant, which is spread over 1,30,000 square feet, has eight lines that produce and test up to 14 engine variants. This includes the four cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, six cylinder V-type gasoline and diesel engines. It employs around 200 people and works in two shifts.
Made with an investment of Rs 100 crore, this plant is a part of the Rs 700 crore investment pledged by Force Motors over the next two years, across its value chain for multiple products, business verticals. The facility has an annual capacity of 20,000 engines and 20,000 front and rear axles.
Mr Javadekar said that India’s industrial policy was going in the right direction because of which it is attracting new investments. He added that the Union government was going to focus on reducing use of water in industries in view of water scarcity in the country.
