“Replete. Responsible. Ready.” That is how the western Indian state of Rajasthan presented itself during its investor meet in Singapore — titled ‘Rising Rajasthan’ — held at the Shangri-La hotel on October 8, 2024. This was one in a series of investor meets under this theme held by the state government in India and abroad.
In the run-up to this investor meet in Singapore, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth about INR 12.5 trillion (about USD 148.9 billion/ SGD 195 billion) were signed between Rajasthan and companies within and outside India.
“Rajasthan is one of the largest states in [India],” said Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister for Industries and Commerce, Government of Rajasthan, aka Olympic silver medallist shooter, by way of opening his speech. “And the projected growth rate of Rajasthan is even higher, if you take it individually, compared to the country. [This] means that the potential of growth in Rajasthan is huge in the following sectors — the sectors are tourism; IT and IT-related services; agro and food processing; logistics; infrastructure; renewable energy; engineering system designing; mines and minerals; education and skill; and petrochemicals. These are the various sectors where Rajasthan has great potential.”
The website of Rising Rajasthan supports this by showcasing the variety of industries currently operating in the state — from solar power to automobile engineering and flat glass manufacturing; from marble mining to textile spinners; and more.
Traditionally known as the state of royal forts and palace hotels, Rajasthan has always been a driving force in the Indian travel and tourism industry, but the state is now reinventing itself as an industrial destination that can compete strongly with its neighbour Gujarat.
Strong pitch backed by one point person per country
In comparison to the investment spiels made in the past by Indian states in Singapore, this pitch by the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ delegation struck a chord with the audience. This was a vibrant interaction, thanks to a combination of factors: presence of the dashing Colonel Rathore; the very erudite Sudhansh Pant, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan; the natural charm associated with the state; and a breathtaking Rajasthan Tourism video (scripted as a young couple’s honeymoon story) setting the tone for the meet.
This Rajasthan delegation to Singapore included Alok Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Government of Rajasthan; and Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary, Medical & Health, Government of Rajasthan. Also present was Dr Shilpak Ambule, High Commissioner of India to Singapore.
In his speech, Colonel Rathore emphasised, “If it is of interest to Rajasthan, we will work faster than the private sector.”
He added that in order to make it easy for potential investors to reach out to the state government, “we have allocated one senior officer to a country and Gayatri Rathore will be the point of contact for Singapore for the next four years”. (She can be reached at gayatri.rathore@rajasthan.gov.in)
Pre-empting the question of whether Rajasthan was stretching itself too thin by promoting so many industries, instead of concentrating on its core industries, Rathore said, “You might say that a state should focus on just a few [sectors]. But we are such a big state, and so diverse, that we have [the] potential for all of these.”
Explaining the strengths of Rajasthan, the minister said, “We have the largest inland reserve for fossil fuel. We are right next to [the Indian capital] Delhi, so when IT services grow beyond Gurgaon [the infotech hub in the state of Haryana], the ideal place for them to come is a greenfield area, which is Rajasthan.”
At the Singapore meet, Rathore highlighted the strength of Rajasthan’s manpower pool: very young population; hardy people; no labour shortage; and no work disruptions.
Rajasthan is ideal for renewable energy investments
In the era of climate change, the importance of renewable energy is increasing by the day. Rathore told the investor meet that Rajasthan, with its “large amount of land and great amount of sunshine” was ideal for solar power industries. “We have a target to achieve 100 Gigawatt of renewable energy,” he added.
The sands of Rajasthan already host a large number of wind turbines. According to the Rising Rajasthan website section on renewable energy: “India’s target is to achieve 500GW Non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.” The state is one of the key contributors to this goal, because of the following:
- “Rajasthan ranks 2nd among Indian states in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy, with a total of 28617.46 MW.”
- “Rajasthan ranks 1st in solar with an installed capacity of 22860.73 MW, with over 320 clear sunny days in a year.”
- “Rajasthan ranks 3rd in wind power with an installed capacity of 5195.82 MW.”
As to how Rajasthan would fare in terms of business competitiveness when placed next to states such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the minister said that certain factors — ease of setting up and doing business; raw material availability; distance to market; labour costs; and the law and order situation — mattered to every investor. “Everything is perfect in Rajasthan,” he said. “We are pioneering in terms of labour reforms, and we hardly have any labour issues. In fact, labour is an enabler in Rajasthan, not a limiter.”
Singapore can offer cutting-edge petrochem expertise
Responding to a question from Connected to India on what Singapore and Rajasthan could offer each other in terms of investment, and if any specific areas had been identified, Rathore said that in his meetings with Tan See Leng, Singapore Minister for Manpower & Second Minister for Trade and Industry; and with K Shanmugam, Singapore Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, he felt that the leaders of Singapore “understand India very well, and they are quick to see opportunities for Singapore”.
The relation between Singapore and India is very nice, because of Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi visiting Singapore year and year again, ministers are visiting… [and] we also have the [Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement]. So all put together, I am quite certain that in areas of, say, inland container depots or newer forms of renewable energy, say, green ammonia or solar parks, then [development of] industrial towns… in all these, plus tourism, we will see some great support from the Singapore Government.
Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister for Industries and Commerce, Government of Rajasthan
To a question on MoUs, the minister said that discussions were still on-going between the Indian and the Singaporean sides, and that “12.5 lakh crore rupees (nearly SGD 195 billion) worth of MoUs have already been signed” under the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ campaign around the world.
The chief secretary of Rajasthan put the figure of initial MoU target at SGD 350 billion; this has since been revised upwards.
“And this is just the beginning; it’s not the end,” said Rathore. Rajasthan recently saw a change in its ruling party, and the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ roadshows began after that. The process of wooing investors would continue, he said.
In the petrochem sector, what Rajasthan needed from Singapore was “the knowledge”, stated Rathore, because of Singapore’s expertise in building and operating state-of-the-art refineries. “We have the oil reserves, therefore what we need now is consultancy,” he said.
“Our oil reserves are huge,” said Rathore, dispelling doubts if Rajasthan had enough hydrocarbon wealth to attract investor attention. “Forty per cent of India’s [oil and gas] reserves are in Rajasthan.”
As the conversation expanded to what kind of interest the Rajasthan roadshow had received from Singapore businesses, the minister said that the feedback had been so good, that he had increased his MoU target from SGD 350 billion to SGD 400 billion. During his investor meetings, he realised “how positive people are towards our country [India]”, said Rathore.
“We are confident that the MoUs we do now, we will be able to execute them in the next two years. Everything we do now, will go into production in front of our eyes,” said the minister.
High rate of MoU-to-Investment conversion expected
Since an MoU is not a legally binding agreement, Connected to India asked Chief Secretary Pant how much of the total MoU amount could be translated to investment on the ground in Rajasthan. He replied that the previous state governments could achieve 30-35 per cent conversion rate (from MoU to actual investment), but as the present state administration had four clear areas of governance, it expected to beat that number.
The global investor confidence in India was based on the stability provided by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, and the “big, important, achievable targets that he is setting”, alongside the “transparency in governance”, said Rathore. Politicking in India had undergone “a sea change”, he added. “And remember, it’s the largest market in the world.”
Amid the global military conflicts, India offered a secure destination for investments, as the country was not going to war with anybody, the minister pointed out.
To a question about how Rajasthan and India could keep the economic development momentum going, Rathore said, “Well begun is half done”, referring to the work of the recently elected governments at the state and the national levels — both led by the Bharatiya Janata Party. “So, we’ve already begun well. We’re working with a great amount of enthusiasm; we want to see a change.”
Briefly touching upon his own career outside politics — as an Indian Army man and a sportsman — Rathore said, “My life has been replete with examples of achievements, whether it’s sports, whether it’s military… I feel very enthusiastic about doing something good.”
Closing his address to a large group of businesspersons and members of the Indian diaspora, Rathore said, “Please come there [to the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ Global Investment Summit in Jaipur, in December 2024]. Be a part of the summit.”
“And,” he said to rapturous applause, “stay beyond the summit for your honeymoon.”
