Physical Infrastructure – Air, Rail, Road and Port
Maharashtra has a sound physical infrastructure with a good network of rail, road and air. A major part of Maharashtra is connected through railways. The Central Railways, one of the zones of the Indian Railways, has its headquarters in Mumbai, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The state has a wonderful intra-city network of railways. The railways in the suburban areas carries approximately 6.1 million passengers on a daily basis. For long distance travelling in Maharashtra, railway is the most preferred means of transport.
As far as its air connectivity is concerned, the state has 10 domestic airports with prime ones located at Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur. The busiest airport of the country is located at Mumbai. Further, an additional airport has been proposed at Navi-Mumbai. There is also a proposal to set up a greenfield airport near Pune. The airport at Aurangabad has been upgraded recently to serve as an international airport. Almost 34 percent of the overseas tourists are handled airports in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has a vast network of roads with a total road length of over 2,67,000 Km. The total length of its national highways is 4,176 Km and state highways is 33,705 Km. Apart from the government run buses, there are privately run luxury buses to commute between the different towns. Ferry service is easily available around Mumbai that links it with the neighboring areas. Under the on-going National Highway Development Programme (NHDP), 721 Km. is being converted into four to six lane highways. Mumbai-Pune Expressway has been constructed recently. It is the maiden controlled-access toll road in the country. This expressway has significantly improved connectivity between the two most important business and industrial sectors in the state. The expressway shall enable rapid industrial development in the region.
The road connectivity to the JNPT port shall significantly improve on completion of the on-going expansion of the national highway. The on-going National Highway Development Programme includes up-gradation of national highways aggregating 721 km passing through the state. Further, two additional national highway projects aggregating 218 km are being upgraded through public-private partnership. The total investment envisaged in these projects is approximately US$ 230 million. Projects worth over US$ 215 million are being undertaken for laying new lines, gauge conversion and doubling of railway tracks. A 250 km line is being laid between Ahmadnagar and Vaijnath at a cost of over US$ 1 10 million. Another important new line project is Amravati-Narkher, 138 km in length.
There are several ports in the state that handle the export of ores mined in Maharastra. . There are basically three main ports located in the capital city of Mumbai that are controlled by the Mumbai Port Trust.
The private sector participation in the Mumbai port has been through the following:
- Leasing out cargo berths for container handling
- Construction of a captive Coal Jetty by Tata Electric Company
The State Government also plans to develop an international hub at Nagpur. The project envisages upgrading the existing Nagpur airport to international standards and developing the same as a cargo hub for the Asia-Pacific region. The detailed feasibility study for the project has been completed.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in the process of restructuring and modernising Mumbai's international airport through private sector participation. The project envisages formation of a joint venture between AAI and a private airport operator, with the private player holding a 74 per cent stake. The airport shall be given on a 30-year lease to the joint venture, which shall also make the necessary investment to bring the airport to international standards.
JNPT port signed a license agreement in the year 2004 with Gateway Terminals India, a consortium led by Maersk Sealand, for setting up the third container terminal at the port. Plans are also underway to develop an international airport at Pune. The airport shall be developed as a public-private partnership between the State Government, AAI and the private sector.
The state Government of Maharashtra has handed over the responsibility of executing the work of setting up a new international airport at Pune to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). This airport is planned to cover a large area of over 24,28 hectares (6,000 acres), which will make it the largest airport in India post completion. The airport is planned to have two runways and once it is constructed there will be greater number of international flights. Maharashtra Maritime Board has identified seven ports for development during the next 10-15 years. Currently, ports at Revas, Dighi and Jaigarh are being developed through private sector participation.
The state established its first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) through the conversion of Santa Cruz Electronic Export Promotion Zone (SEEPZ) into a SEZ to give a further boost to the industries present in SEEPZ. SEEPZ commenced operations in 1973-74 with a developed area of over 100 acres. Initially, it exclusively focused on electronic items. However, manufacture and export of gems and jewellery items was permitted in 1987-88.
Maharashtra is also planning to develop one of the biggest SEZs in the country near Mumbai. The Maha-Mumbai Integrated SEZ (MiSEZ) shall cover 6,000 hectares. The state has a network of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFSs) to facilitate efficient movement of goods for domestic and international trade. The ICDs are located at Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Miraj. The CFSs are located at Mumbai, Jalgaon, Aurangabad and Dronagiri. All the ICDs and CFSs are well equipped with modern facilities including a customs department, shipping companies, handling agencies, banks, customs house agents and carrying and forwarding agents.
Health Infrastructure
The state has a well developed infrastructure for offering ample health care and medical services. In totality, there are 212 medical institutes and 136 nursing colleges with an annual intake of over 13,000 and 3,500 respectively. Government aided health care services include 964 hospitals, 2,081 dispensaries and 1,806 primary health centers. The number of beds in various public and government aided health institutions in the state are 92,106, which is 930 beds per million population.
Educational Infrastructure
Maharashtra has the second highest literacy next to Kerala. The literacy rate in the state increased from 65 per cent in 1991 to 77 per cent in 2001. It boasts of a well developed infrastructure consisting of 10 universities, 67,800 primary and 17,530 secondary schools and more than 1,800 higher education institutions. It has 344 engineering colleges having more than 88,000 students. The total number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Maharashtra are 612 and architectural colleges are 34 having a total annual intake of over 93,000 and 1,000 respectively. The capital city of Maharashtra Mumbai has one of the six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The state houses some of the reputed national Research and Development institutes such as Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), National Chemical Lab, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
This strong network of institutes makes available a pool of qualified professionals to the numerous businesses and industries in the state and the country. Some of the reputed business management institutes in Maharashtra include Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Central Institute for Business Management, Research and Development, Training & Advanced Studies in Management and Communications Ltd., Indian Center for Management & Human Resource Development (ICMHRD) and Institute for Technology & Management.
Internationally reputed firms including Intel, Texas Instruments and Analog Devices have collaborated with IIT, Mumbai, to set up world-class laboratory facilities in areas of digital signal processing and microprocessors.
Power
Maharashtra has the largest installed electricity generation capacity all over India. Its capacity to generate electricity has increased from 37,311 million kWh to 73,129 million kWh between 1990-1991 and 2006-2007. It has a captive power producing capacity of 704 MW. The state's industrial sector is the largest consumer of power and then comes the domestic agricultural sector. There has been a sharp rise in not just the production but also in the consumption of electricity. From the period between 1990-91 to 2006-07, the total level of consumption has increased from 29,971 million kWh to 62,085 million kWh.
Its thermal power constitutes a large part of its installed generating capacity. It accounts for almost 86 percent followed by hydro power. In the year 2005-06, a systematic study was done to find out the exact requirement of the state in terms of electricity and it was found that the state has the need of 16069 MW and the state had a shortage of approximately 23.10 per cent. Maharashtra is among the few states in the country with significant presence of private sector players in the electricity generation and distribution business.
Telecommunications infrastructure
Maharashtra has seen rapid growth in the telecommunication sector in the past decade. It is the second-largest GSM market with 11.2 million subscribers in 2006-2007. Mobile telephony sector has witnessed phenomenal growth and has a total of 4,913 telephone exchanges with 2,75,533 mobile phone subscribers. By March 2007, the number of PCOs under MTNL and BSNL were 0.16 million and 0.24 million respectively. As per the statistics obtained by the end of September 2007, the number of cell phone users per lakh population in Maharashtra was 26,001.
Industrial Infrastructure
Industrial clustersThe auto components cluster at Pune is one of the 19 industrial clusters/locations identified by the Government of India for infrastructure improvement under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS). IIUS would help the cluster in enhancing its competitiveness by providing quality infrastructure through public-private partnership.
Urban infrastructureGiven the criticality of urban areas to Maharashtra's economy (with almost half the population living in urban areas), a number of steps are being taken to improve the urban infrastructure in the state. Important initiatives currently underway include the following:
Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)
Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) aims to improve the transport infrastructure and services in Mumbai through investment in suburban railway projects, local bus transport, new roads, bridges, pedestrian subways and traffic management activities. MUTP is estimated to cost approximately US$ 943 million. The World Bank has sanctioned a loan of US$ 542 million for the project.
Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP)
Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) is a US$ 600 million project aimed at improving the road network in the Greater Mumbai region to facilitate efficient traffic management. The project funded by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), envisages construction/improvement of over 450 km of the road network during the next three years.
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Key industrial centres
Navi MumbaiSpread over a large area of 344 sq km, Navi Mumbai is one of the largest planned cities all over the world. In order to reduce the development pressure on Mumbai, Navi Mumbai has been developed as a twin city to Mumbai. Located adjacent to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai comprises 14 self-contained nodal townships that are strung along the mass rapid transport corridors. It is designed to minimise travel time and distance between nodes and neighbouring cities.
It is the only city in India to be featured on the well known National Geographic Channel as one of the super cities all across the globe. Experts from the National Geographic Channel have declared Navi Mumbai as one of the top cities of the world.
Navi Mumbai provides a well-planned and laid out urban area suited to meet the needs of a services economy. It also has adequate provision for establishment of industrial units in a planned manner. Future development plans for Navi Mumbai include an IT Park, commuter rail project, golf courses, amusement park, international convention centre and international sports complex, among others.
MumbaiMumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, is the most populous city in the country. Mumbai has an international airport and two major ports, Mumbai and Nhava Sheva. Mumbai is recognised as the fourth largest urban agglomeration world over. It is the financial and commercial hub of India with headquarters for most Indian and multinational banks, financial institutions and insurance companies including Reserve Bank of India, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Barclays, Duetsche Bank etc.
Most of the top Indian business houses as well as some of the world's top multinationals such as AT&T, General Motors, Daimler Chrysler, P&G, Shell, etc. have headquarters in Mumbai. The city is also the main centre for capital market-related activities and home to the country's two largest stock exchanges. The major industries in and around Mumbai are chemicals, textiles, financial services and IT/ITES. Mumbai is the centre of India's film and entertainment industry with 'Bollywood' (as it is known in India) producing over 800 movies each year. Mumbai is a potential destination for financial services, IT/ITES, leisure and entertainment industries.
PunePune is the second largest city in Maharashtra and sixth largest city in the country with a population of 7.2 million. The literacy rate is about 81 percent which is quite high if compared with the all india average literacy. Pune is a prominent hub for automobile and IT industries. The city houses a large number of national and international players including Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Daimler Chrysler, Fiat, Bharat Forge, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro, among others. It is also a prominent education centre with a presence of over 100 colleges and institutions.
It has 12 industrial areas focusing on automobiles, chemicals, consumer durables, engineering and Information Technology. Pune is a potential destination for automobiles and auto components, engineering, food processing, leisure & entertainment and biotechnology industries located in the state.
NashikFrom the point of industrialisation, the city ranks third. It is one of the fastest growing cities in Maharashtra. Nashik is an important commercial and religious centre in the state and has a population of 4.9 million. It has a significant presence of automobile and auto-components, engineering and grape processing industries. The major players in Nashik include Mahindra and Mahindra, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Crompton Greaves. It has seven industrial areas facilitating the industrial growth in the region, with a focus on engineering and automobiles. Nashik is a potential destination for engineering, food processing and biotechnology industries in the state.
NagpurNagpur has a population of approximately 4.5 million. It has excellent road and rail connectivity to all parts of the country. Its unique location in the Indian sub continent makes it a viable passenger and cargo hub. It is a growing industrial centre and has 10 industrial areas. It is home to reputed companies including Indo-Rama Synthetics, Electrolux and Voltas. It is a potential destination for food processing, chemicals and engineering industries.
Development potentialGiven the relatively advanced stage of Maharashtra's economic development, the state is in a position to exploit its strength to increase the pace of economic development. While the state's dominance in the industrial sector is increasing, its relatively well-developed infrastructure and the existing upstream and downstream industrial linkages provide an edge. Maharashtra is also well placed to significantly benefit from the on-going boom in the services sector, with its high per capita income and large urban population.
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