FREE PRESS - VOL. XXXIX NO. 218 | INDORE | THURSDAY | JANUARY 12, 2023 | PAGES 18 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; RNI No. 38281/83 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE `3 QUALITY AT VALUE WEATHER 25.30c. 09.00c ADANI TO INVEST `60K-CR, RELIANCE `40K-CR WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN EDIT ECONOMY RETURNING TO GROWTH PATH FOR 24X7 UPDATES MISSION ACCEPTED! Pg-16 Sunrise : 07.09 Sunset : 05.59 7TH EDITION OF GLOBAL INVESTORS’ SUMMIT BEGINS ON A PROMISING NOTE ATUL GAUTAM Indore Major business houses including Adani Group, Reliance Group, Adita Birla Group and JSW Group pledged investment of several thousand crores of rupees at the inaugural session of the 7th edition of the Global Investors Summit (GIS) organised by the Madhya Pradesh government, here at Brilliant Convention . Centre on Wednesday While Adani Group committed investment of Rs Reliance crore, 60,000 Group and Aditya Birla Group announced plans to invest Rs 40,000 crore and . Rs 15,000 crore respectively JSW Group also pledged Rs 4,500 crore investments in the state in next two years. Appealing to the industrialists to invest in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it is the fastest growing state in the country with adequate land and water, surplus power, skilled manpower, good infrastructure and pro-industry policies. CM said that MP's growth rate is highest in the country at 19.76 per cent, its contribution to country's GDP now stands at 4.6 per cent, its GSDP is 12 lakh crore. "We have 2 lakh acres of land bank for industries. The industrialists who have come to attend the GIS can put a finger on the state's map and we will allocate the land within 24 hours. We have 24x7 power . supply We have adequate water for industries as we have rivers like Narmada which flow throughout the year. Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state. The law and order in the state is intact. We also have skilled manpower and we are making global skill park in Bhopal where manpower will be trained as per the require- News Brief Four hurt in MYH compressor blast INDORE: Four people sustained minor injuries in a compressor explosion on the premises of the blood bank of the Government Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (MYH) here on Wednesday, a senior official said. PG-3 Caste survey: SC to hear plea on Jan 20 NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear on January 20 a plea against the Bihar govt's decision to conduct a caste census in the state.A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after a lawyer appearing for petitioner mentioned the matter. Explosion near Af foreign min kills 20 KABUL: An explosion near the Foreign Ministry in the Afghan capital on Wednesday killed 20 people and wounded several others, a Taliban police spokesman said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — has increased its assaults since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. PM: IMF sees India as 'bright spot' in global economy OUR STAFF REPORTER city.indore@fpj.co.in From left: Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Prahlad Patel, Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, MA Yusuf Ali and Force Motors Chairman Abhay Firodia at the inauguration of Global Investors' Summit in Indore on Wednesday SEE ALSO PG 3&4 Global leader in heart stents to set up unit in Ujjain TO INVEST ` 200cr & start production in two-and-half years MANISH UPADHYAY / Indore An Indian company and global leader in making heart stents, SMT, plans to set up a manufacturing unit in Ujjain with an investment of Rs 200 crore. If things go according to plans, production of heart stents will start in the next two and half years. Dr Rajiv Chhibbar, vicepresident (External Affairs) SMT is a global medical devices company engaged in making advanced medical technological equipment, which is used in 79 countries. Its specialisation is in the field of cardiovascular healthcare Dr Rajiv Chhibbar, V-P (External Affairs) of SMT of SMT, who was here to take part in the GIS, spelt out his plans in an exclusive chat with this correspondent. "We already have a presence in Surat, Mangalore, and in Hyderabad, we have Asia's largest stent manufacturing plant. We plan to set up our first plant in MP in the upcoming Medical Devices Park, in Ujjain, with an investment of Rs 200 cr. Dr Chhibbar also visited the Medical Devices Park in Ujjain where they plan to set up the plant, accompanied by MP Industrial Development Corporation officials. Asked why SMT had chosen to invest in MP, Dr Chhibbar said that industrial infrastructure in the state had improved tremendously. Also, we would get developed land in the industrial park and MP is centrally located and this would help our supply chain. global among immense enthusiasm for investment in MP, this the state a 550 billion economy by have to feel our TIhere iswill efforts will bearinfruit. Idirection.makewantsnot only$with thedomestic but also2026 andinvestors. speed of Cheetah... to run MP be a milestone this summit SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN, CM ments of the industries. Above all, we have ease of . doing business policy In the recent rankings, MP was adjudged No 1 in good governance," he said. The Chief Minister stated that the infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh has also improved in last two decades. Indian diaspora from London told us during the PBD convention that Indore roads are better than that those in London. LEADING INDUSTRIALISTS Industrialists attending GIS include Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, CII DG Chandrajit Banerjee, Godrej Agrovet chairman Nadir Godrej, Force Motors chairman Aditya Firodia, Accenture India chairperson Rekha Menon, JSW Cement MD Parth Jindal, ITC chairman Sanjeev Puri, Reliance New Energy executive director Nikhil Meswani, Bajaj Finserv chairman Sanjeev Bajaj, Adani Agro chairman Pranav Adani and Avaada Group chairman Vineet Mittal. MASSIVE PARTICIPATION Over 5000 industrialists, and 70 big industrial houses are participating in the summit. The theme of summit is "Madhya Pradesh: The Future Ready State". Besides, 10 partner countries, Panama foreign minister, Mauritius finance minister, Bangladesh commerce minister, Zimbabwe minister for minerals, ambassadors or consulate generals from 33 countries, 431 business delegates from 84 countries are also participating in the summit. Pointing out that MP is an industry-friendly state, the CM stated that he is a CEO of MP who meets industri. alists every Monday Chouhan said the state is rich in mineral resources. "There are diamonds, coal, dolomite, limestone, manganese etc. The state also produces strategic raw materials which are required for making defence and aircraft equipment," he said. achievements Citing made by the state in agriculture sector, the CM said that MP is foodgrain capital . of the country We are encouraging contract farming and industrialists can get the farmers to produce whatever crop they want I have special interest in textile and readymade garments industries because it gives maximum jobs. We currently stands at fourth positing in readymade garments industries and working to secure No 1 position. We have an exclusive ready. made garments policy Chouhan said that Madhya Pradesh is going to be the next destination of IT companies. CONTD. ON P8 Industrialists hail Chouhan’s economic policies NITENDRA SHARMA Indore All renowned industrialists from across the country who have gathered in Indore for the Global Investors' Summit appreciated the policies of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the business environment he has created in the state. Chairman of Tata Group, N Chandrasekaran, said Chouhan created an environment which is apt to investments. This has attracted industrialists to the state, so it is developing by leaps and bounds, he CM has created an atmosphere which is conducive to investments, says Chandrasekaran said. Similarly, director general of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chandrajit Banerjee, said CII had worked well in Madhya Pradesh, and it was possible because of the policies of the CM. Those policies have generated positive impact on the investors, be- BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY CASE If govt feels victims are entitled, pay them: SC to Centre NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Central government it was not prohibited from granting relief to the Bhopal gas tragedy victims, and it cannot absolve from itself from the welfare state principle saying that its stand was that it "take it from them (successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation) (and) "as and when taken from them", it will pay . A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising Justices Sanjeev Khanna, Abhay S. Oka, Vikram Nath and J.K. Maheshwari, grilled Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, as to how could it file a curative petition without filing the review. The bench told the AG that the central government was not prohibited from granting relief to the Bhopal gas tragedy victims. It said: "Their (successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation) argument is that you are opening the whole thing. You said we are not opening the whole thing... you are saying accept more liability If they . are willing, then no problem, but they are saying 'No you chose to enter into a settlement, not under any duress or pressure that is nobody's case, can't be'." The bench further added that if the government feels victims are entitled to be paid more, "please pay them... the question is what we should do in curative petition... Pay them, most welcome to do". The bench told the AG as a welfare society "if you are so concerned you want to pay more; you should have paid more". CONTD. ON P8 sides Chouhan has organised the summit in a better way, Banerjee said. Managing director of Adani Agro, Pranab Adani, said the social policies of the state government led by Chouhan created a fine impact for which he earned laurels from everywhere, but he also did a fine work in improving the state's fiscal health. As a result of his economic policies, many industrialists have been attracted to the state, he said. Chairman of Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla, said Chouhan's style of working is inspiring, and being enthused by it, he came to attend the summit. The state has created a positive environment for setting up industries, he said. In the same way, Chairman of Forbes Motors, Abhay Firodia, said Madhya Pradesh has changed in the past 20 years, and now, one can think about investment in this state. In fact, the state has progressed so much so that Indore, which was considered a dull city, has earned the tag of the cleanest in the country for several times, he said. CONTD. ON P8 Noting that global institutions and credible voices have unprecedented confi, dence in the country Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees India as a "bright spot" in the global . economy "And World Bank says India is in a better position to deal with the global headwinds than many other countries. This is all because of India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals," he said while virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 7th edition of Invest Madhya PradeshGlobal Investors Summit in Indore. Quoting Morgan Stanley, the PM said that India is moving towards becoming the world's third-largest economy in the next four to five years. "The CEO of McKinsey has said that not just the present decade but the century itself belongs to India," he added. "The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said India will be among growing fastest the economies in the G20 group this year," he went on to add. The premier said that the government has increased the speed of reforms and removed many hurdles in the way of investments in the past eight years. "Today's new India is moving ahead relying on the strength of its private sector", he said. India has been on the path of "reform, transform and perform" since 2014, the PM said. The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has imparted greater momentum to it. As a result, India has become an attractive destination for investment, he said. dedicated said Modi freight corridors, industrial corridors, expressways and logistic parks are becoming the identity of new India. INAUGURATING GIS VIRTUALLY, PM SAYS... MP is ajab, gajab and sajag Modi said there is an important role of Madhya Pradesh in building a developed India. "From faith, spirituality to tourism, from agriculture to education and skill development, Madhya Pradesh is 'ajab,gajab and sajag'," he said. "I can say this with confidence that Madhya Pradesh has the potential and resolve and will go two steps ahead in your (investors) progress," Modi said. He said the GIS is organised at a time when the 'AmritKaal' of India's independence has started. Modi said MP has also joined the national single window system, started by the Centre recently. About 50,000 approvals have been given through it so far. An incentive of more than Rs 2.5 lakh has been announced under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, the PM said urging the investors coming to MP to take maximum advantage of the PLI scheme. Investments worth hundreds of crores have come in Madhya Pradesh because of this scheme, he said, adding the scheme has been important in making MP a big pharma and textile hub. For the first time, there is a national platform for building infrastructure in India in the form of the Gatishakti National Master Plan, he said. India's modern infrastructure and multi-model infrastructure are also giving a boost to investment possibilities, he said. All these efforts are giving new strength to Make In India and the manufacturing sector of the country is growing at a fast pace. CONTD. ON P8 RRR waltzes its way to Golden Globe for Naatu Naatu BEATS TAYLOR SWIFT, Rihanna & Lady Gaga to win the coveted award LOS ANGELES "Naatu Naatu", the irrepressible, fun number from the blockbuster "RRR", danced its way to a Golden Globe as the 'best original song-motion picture' -- and to Indian showbiz history -at a star spangled awards ceremony here. The song, which beat the Keeravani poses with the award for best original song, motion picture for Naatu Naatu the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards at Beverly Hilton Hotel on Tuesday TECH GLITCH HITS FLIGHTS ACROSS US More than 3,700 flights were delayed and 600 cancelled after a pilot notification system failure PTI / WASHINGTON Thousands of flights were grounded for several hours on Wednesday across the US following technical failure in a key pilot notification system. However, normal air traffic operations . resumed gradually The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) an- The US Federal Aviation Authority said on Wednesday that normal flight operations "are resuming gradually" across the country following an overnight systems outage that grounded departures nounced earlier in the morning that it suffered an outage of its Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAMs, which alerts pilots and other personnel about airborne issues. The FAA or- dered airlines to delay all domestic departures early on Wednesday morning, but lifted the ground stop just before 9 am Eastern Standard Time after several hours. CONTD. ON P8 likes of Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, to win the coveted award is the first time that an Indian production has won a Golden Globe. Organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, awards, prestigious the which mark the beginning of the Hollywood season that ends with the Oscars, were . presented on Tuesday "RRR" had also been nominated in 'best picture-non English' category and lost out to Argentina's "Argentina, 1985". But there was compensation . aplenty "And the Globe goes to 'Naatu Naatu' 'RRR'," actor Jenna Ortega announced to loud cheers from the 'RRR' team. The track has been composed by music director MM Keeravaani and voiced by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. Keeravaani thanked director Rajamouli for his "vision" as he accepted the award. "It has been an ageold practice to say that this award actually belongs to someone else. So I was planning to not say those words when I get an award like this, but I'm sorry to say that I'm going to repeat the tradition because I mean my words. CONTD. ON P8 HC relief on baby powder for Johnson & Johnson URVI MAHAJANI / MUMBAI The Bombay High Court on Wednesday quashed the orders of the Maharashtra restraining government Johnson & Johnson from manufacturing and selling its baby powder, observing that there has been a “needless delay of 2 years”, which is not only “unreasonable” but also “arbitrary”. Swift action in such cases is necessary as “public purpose, welfare and consumer protection” is the at heart of the law, a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and SG Dige remarked, while permitting Johnson from selling its product in the market. however, bench, The asked the company to destroy the stock of the tested batch that was found noncompliant with prescribed standards. CONTD. ON P8