Last updated: Jan, 2024
Introduction
Maharashtra is situated on the west coast of India. The state shares borders with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
At current prices, Maharashtra’s gross state domestic product was estimated at Rs. 31.08 trillion (US$ 410.87 billion) in 2021-22. GSDP of the state increased at a CAGR (in Rs.) of 7.93% from 2015-16 to 2021-22.
Mumbai, the state's capital, is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial hub. The city is home to several global banking and financial services providers. Pune, another major city in the state, has emerged as the educational hub. The state government has taken numerous initiatives to upgrade the education system such as slashing of school fees by 15% for the year 2021-22, planning on recruiting 3,064 professors in the state and allotting 1% education and job quota to COVID orphans. Maharashtra has emerged as a key hub for IT & ITeS, electronics, and captive business outsourcing industries.
The state has a well-developed social, physical, and industrial infrastructure. Apart from 16 airports, the state has two major and 48 minor ports. It also has a well-developed power supply grid. Maharashtra's infrastructure sector has grown significantly over the last decade, with a substantial rise in the number of industrial clusters and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), between October 2019-June 2023, the FDI inflow in Maharashtra stood at US$ 58.43 billion. Maharashtra ranked first for the highest FDI reception.
During Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 in June 2020, the state attracted investment proposals of Rs. 1.13 lakh crore (US$ 15.23 billion) with expected employment >2.50 lakh.
Total exports from the state stood at US$ 72.43 billion in FY23. Maharashtra exported key items such as pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, gold and other precious metal jewellery, drug formulations, and sugar.
Key Sectors
- Aggregate deposits and credit of scheduled commercial banks in Maharashtra stood at US$ 370 billion and US$ 394 billion, respectively, in 2019-20.
- Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), CIDCO and Software Technology Park of India developed 37 public IT parks, which are functioning in the state with an investment of ~Rs. 18,000 crore (US$ 2.5 billion).
- MIDC approved 546 private IT parks with a proposed investment of Rs. 92,484 crore. Of these, 199 parks are already operational with an overall investment of Rs. 29,729 crore (US$ 4.1 billion) and employ ~7.75 lakh people (until November 2020).
- As of September 2023, the state had a total installed power generation capacity of 46,137.87 MW, of which the private sector was the largest contributor with a capacity of 24,553.6 MW, followed by 13,450.97 MW from state utilities and 8,133.30 MW from central utilities. Thermal power contributed 28,766.97 MW to the total installed power generation capacity, followed by renewable power, hydropower and nuclear power at 13,159.73 MW, 3,331.84 MW and 879.33 MW, respectively.
- The Vehicle Scrappage Policy, a government-funded programme was launched in August 2021 to replace old vehicles with modern & new vehicles on Indian roads. The state of Maharashtra is outlining SOPs (that will be soon rolled out) for setting up digitised scrapping centres.
- In December 2020, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), in Mumbai, developed the indigenous ‘Ruthenium 106 Plaque’, a therapy for eye cancer, to treat the ocular tumour.
- On September 8, 2021, the Central government approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) for the textile sector with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 10,683 crore (US$ 1.45 billion) which is likely to benefit Gujarat, U.P., Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha.
- In December 2020, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated the first batch of the Indian Institute of Skills in Mumbai, a joint initiative between the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India and Tata Indian Institute of Skills.
- Under the State Budget 2021-22, the government spent 5.2% of its budget on roads and bridges, which is higher than the average allocation by states (4.3%) for roads and bridges (Rs. 22,608 crore or US$ 3.06 billion allocated for construction of roads and bridges).
- Under the State Budget 2021-22, the government approved the construction of the Pune-Nashik medium high-speed railway line with a proposed length of 235 km and estimated cost of Rs. 16,039 crore (US$ 2.18 billion); Nashik Metro Neo Project, a total length of 33 km and estimated cost Rs. 2,100 crore (US$ 286.03 million); Metrolite system in Thane city at an estimated cost of Rs. 7,165 crore (US$ 975.92 million) and Pimpri Chinchwad to Nigdi Corridor project at an estimated cost of Rs. 946.73 crore (US$ 128.95 million).
- In 2021, tourist arrivals in Maharashtra stood at 43.6 million (domestic) and 0.2 million (foreign). The state government is now reviving the tourism sector post-COVID by launching various tourist spots and upgradations of the existing ones.
- In May 2022, the state government of Maharashtra signed MOUs with 23 international firms to receive investments worth Rs. 30,379 crore (US$ 3.91 billion).
