Industry in Maharashtra

Industry is the foundation of Maharashtra's reputation as India's economic powerhouse. The state is the country's leading industrial and manufacturing state and its number-one destination for domestic and foreign investment.

Why Maharashtra leads. Several advantages come together: an early industrial start around Mumbai (the historic centre of India's cotton-textile industry); Mumbai's role as the financial capital, giving industry ready access to capital; a coastline with major ports (Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva) for trade; good power, transport and skilled labour; and an active state industrial policy. Together these have made the Mumbai–Pune–Nashik industrial belt one of the densest concentrations of industry in the country.

MIDC — the state's industrial engine. A key institution is the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), set up by the state government to plan and develop industrial estates and areas across Maharashtra — providing ready land, roads, water and power to attract investment. MIDC areas (at Pune–Pimpri-Chinchwad, Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur, Tarapur and many other centres) have been the main vehicle for spreading industry, and are also a deliberate tool for taking industry to backward regions.

Key industries. Maharashtra's industrial base is broad and modern:

• Textiles — the historic Mumbai cotton mills and the cotton-processing centres of Vidarbha/Khandesh;
• Automobiles and engineering — a major auto and auto-component hub around Pune–Pimpri-Chinchwad, and at Aurangabad and Nashik;
• Chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and petroleum refining;
• Electronics, engineering goods and food/agro-processing (including sugar); and a large
• gems, jewellery and diamond-cutting trade in Mumbai. …