Jharkhand Needs Reforms, Restoration For Investor Confidence: Sitharaman
She urged the business community in Jharkhand to vote in the interest of the country, for the benefit of the nation, for good leadership and for it to be free of corruption.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged the business community in Jharkhand to vote for better law and order in the state, which could have a multiplier effect on building investor confidence.
The state has been facing the brunt of migration, lawlessness, and rampant corruption, the union minister said while addressing the industry associates and business community in the state that vote across the last four stages of the Lok Sabha elections, starting on May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1, 2024.
Sitharaman urged the attendees to vote in the interest of the country, for the benefit of the nation, for good leadership and for it to be free of corruption. This follows the Bharatiya Janata party's campaign in the state, where it alleges corruption in a recently released 'Aarop Patra' or 'charge sheet' against the incumbent Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, or JMM.
The minister noted that reform and restoration will have to happen at different levels, for which both central and state governments will have to support (the state) and then businesses will gain confidence, and soon a multiplier effect will ensue.
Sitharaman explained the multiplier effect by saying, "When law and order are improved, they automatically attract investments; people will have faith; the collection of revenue and efficiencies of the system and small businesses improving are all there for us to see."
She noted that the government has allocated a 'record' Rs 7,234 crore for railway projects in the state of Jharkhand alone in the interim budget for FY25.
She outlined the government's efforts in the state over the years, noting that the Modi government achieved 100% railway electrification in November 2023 and redeveloped 57 railway stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
"Three Vande Bharat trains have been introduced between Jharkhand and Patna, Varanasi and Howrah, and the Deoghar Airport has been completed and is operational," she said.
She also alluded to the ongoing Varanasi-Kolkata expressway under the Bharatmala Pariyojana and said that 2,256 kilometres of national highways passing through the state were built under the Modi government.
She also referred to the revival of the Sindri fertiliser plant, which involved an outlay of Rs 8,900 crore, to evidence the government's efforts. To reduce urea import dependence, the Sindri plant received revival approval from the Union Cabinet in 2011 and again in 2016 from different governments. The Sindri plant is said to have begun urea production on November 5, 2022, to aid fertiliser supply in the state and adjoining areas.
"...We need good representation in Jharkhand," the minister said. "The Modi government will be formed again for a third term, and India's economy will reach third place from fifth place in around a year, as per the Prime Minister's announcement, and for this, we need Jharkhand's contribution too..."
Speaking of aspirational districts, Sitharaman noted that of the 112 districts, 42 are in the eastern regions of Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
She stated that aspirational districts will further be monitored as aspirational blocks and that development is happening in these aspirational districts under the prime minister’s direct supervision, where some districts have shown progress equivalent to or more than the state's average.
Sitharaman suggested that the state should concentrate on attracting investments to enhance the value of its mineral deposits through mineral-based manufacturing. The state, she said, has 40% of the total aggregate of all mineral deposits in the country.
