After ease of doing business, Maharashtra will now also focus on ‘ease of doing agriculture’, Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Monday. Thackeray was speaking at the inauguration of the Pune International Business Summit organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) in Pune. He said the state government had extended loan waivers to farmers and will now focus on sustainable agriculture in Maharashtra. “Like all sectors that have seen increase in use of technology, agriculture, too, needs to adopt science and technology and upgrade,” he said. “There is no right or left ideology in the world. It’s only whether you are an open or closed economy and Maharashtra is open for doing business and engaging with the world,” he said. Making a pitch for the economic opportunities in the state, Thackeray said Maharashtra is peaceful, strong and stable compared to other states. Industries need to have a presence in Maharashtra if they wanted to grow in India, he added. We want growth in Maharashtra to be inclusive and sustainable, he said. Maharashtra has traditionally been an accelerator and has been home to industry since pre-Independence era and that has continued, he said. The state now had a 50:50 rural-urban split in population and also had the best internet connectivity in the country, he said. The state government will focus on AURIC City in Aurangabad and MIHAN in Nagpur and pitch these to global investors, Thackeray said. On the proposed international airport for Pune, Thackeray promised that there will be some good news soon. He said the government has had meetings with the central aviation minister and was hopeful of things moving.
