The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has sought investments from the Tata Group in and around Nagpur, citing strengths like infrastructure, land availability and connectivity in his home city.
In a letter to Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on October 7, Gadkari, who handles the road transport and highways portfolio, said group companies engaged in businesses like steel, auto, consumer products, IT services and aviation can choose to invest in Nagpur, PTI reported.
The letter shared with the media on Saturday comes amid Maharashtra losing several big-ticket projects to neighbouring Gujarat, like the over Rs 1.5 lakh crore investment from Foxconn-Vedanta on chip manufacturing and the Rs 22,000 crore aircraft manufacturing project where the Tata Group has tied up with Airbus.
According to a report of PTI, all Tata Group companies like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consumer Products, Voltas, Titan Industries, Big Basket may enjoy the strengths of Nagpur like overnight connectivity with 350 districts of six states, lower rates of land, manpower and warehousing, the minister said in the letter.
The letter was written following a briefing from the Vidarbha Economic Development Council, Gadkari said, requesting Chandrasekaran to have a meeting with the think-tank’s delegation on the rationale for creating a hub in Nagpur for the Tata Group. Such a bet would help the faster development of the Vidarbha region and fuel growth for the Tata Group.