Push for Agri-Processing will Increase Investment,’ says B Thiagarajan

According to B Thiagarajan, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Western Region, a drive for agri processing, a research and development environment, and upscaling Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will assist Madhya Pradesh attract investments and companies.

"The traditional strategy of enticing investments by offering land will not work much for MP," Thiagarajan said on the sidelines of its MP annual session, as Madhya Pradesh prepares a new industrial and EV policy that is expected to be announced in April.

“The state should increase agricultural processing and promote itself as a centre for research, development, and innovation."

Given the quick speed of manufacturing across the country, the western region chairman of the CII emphasized the importance of developing a talent pool in the state to bridge the skill gap. "With the way, manufacturing is booming in India, there will be a talent shortage in a number of fields, including manufacturing." "Madhya Pradesh has a high standard of living, and many good engineering and management colleges should focus on developing talent," Thiagarajan added.

When asked about the impact of the Ukraine war on India's exports, CII's western region chairman said the conflict may disrupt the supply chain, but it may also divert world orders to India and hasten the adoption of electric vehicles to lessen reliance on oil.

"Due to the war, many export houses will be unable to export, business decisions will be delayed, and containers may become trapped." But, in my opinion, this will be temporary because it will stop, and international demand may shift to India as countries reduce their reliance on China and Russia," Thiagarajan said.

He claims that, similar to how the pandemic accelerated health/medicine infrastructure and pushed digitization, the conflict will hasten the adoption of electric vehicles in order to minimize reliance on oil and transition to renewable energy sources. Animesh Jain and Shreyaskar Chaudhary were chosen chairman and vice-chairman of the CII's Madhya Pradesh State Council for the year 2022-23 at the annual conference of the western region.