Information Technology

• Maharashtra accounts for more than 30 per cent of the country’s software exports, with over 1,200 software units based in the state.
• The Government of Maharashtra is focussing on providing IT-related infrastructure, fiscal incentives to ITunits, IT in governance and in providing an institutional framework for the IT sector.The state has set up several state-of-the-art IT parks to provide impetus to the IT industry.
• Major IT players present in the state include Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Patni Computers, i-Flex Technologies, Veritas.
•  BPOs of large national and international players in the state include LG, HSBC, Aviva, vCustomer, Xansa, EDS and e-Gain, among others.

Pharma & Biotech

• The state accounts for 32 per cent of the country‘s biotech output.
•  It has strong research capabilities and accounts for over 30 per cent of the country‘s patents.
• The state has a presence of reputed companies focussing on the biotech sector, including Wockhardt, Nicholas Piramal, Cipla and Lupin, among others.
• Major opportunities have emerged in the pharmaceutical sector, primarily in the areas of contract research, contract manufacturing and clinical trials.

Tourism

• Maharashtrais the second most visited state in India by foreign tourists with more than 2 million foreign tourists arrivals annually. Maharashtraboasts of a large number of popular and revered religious venues that are heavily frequented by locals as well as out-of-state visitors.
• Ajanta Caves, Ellora Cavesand Victoria Terminusare the three UNESCOWorld Heritage sitesin Maharashtraand are highly responsible for the development of Tourism in the state.
• Mumbaiis the most cosmopolitan city in India, and a great place to experience modern India. Mumbai famous for Bollywood, the world’s largest film industry. In addition, Mumbai is famous for its clubs, shopping, and upscale gastronomy. The city is known for its architecture, from the ancient Elephanta Caves, to the Islamic Haji AliMosque, to the colonial architecture of Bombay High Courtand Victoria Terminus.
• Maharashtra also has numerous adventure tourism destinations, including paragliding, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, and scuba divingin places like Kolad, Tarkarli, Koyna, Manor. Maharashtra also has several pristine national parks and reserves, some of the best ones are Tadoba with excellent accommodation and safari experiences besides little known by amazing wildlife destinations like Koyna, Nagzira (very small with incredible sightings), Melghat (disturbed with massive mining truck movement), Dajipur, Radhanagari and of course the only national park within metropolic city limits in the world – Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The Bibi Ka Maqbaraat Aurangabadthe Mahalakshmi templeat Kolhapur, the cities of Nashik, Trimbakfamous for religious importance and the city of Punethe seat of the Maratha Empireand the fantastic Ganesh Chaturthicelebrations together contribute for the Tourism sector of Mahrashtra.
• The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) recorded a 100 per cent increase in revenues from US$ 0.86 million in 2005 to US$ 1.45 million in 2006–07.
• MTDC is working on innovative schemes to tap the tourism potential of the state to the fullest; the response to the bed and breakfast‘ schemehas been good.

Apparel & textiles

• The state has an abundance of cotton, which is its key competitive advantage.
• It accounted for about 62 million kg of cotton production, which was 21 per cent of the country‘s total production, and produced 267 million kg. of cotton yarn in 2007–08.
•  The state has a large base of a skilled workforce.
• As of 2007–08, the state‘s installed capacity was 3.96 million spindles, 53,548 rotors and 17,729 looms.
• Steps to strengthen the textile industry in the state include establishing textile parks at Nagpur, Dhule and Ambernath.
• -Key players in the state include Bombay Dyeing, Century Textiles, Vertex Spinning and Raymond.
• Raymond plans to expand its denim manufacturing capacity at Yavatmal from 20 to 30 million metres per annum.
•  Nine textile/apparel SEZs are planned to be set up in the state.

Source : http://www.txcindia.com

Food & agro

• Large areas of the state have been brought under fruit cultivation. Some of Maharashtra‘s well-known agro products include Nagpur and Bathplug oranges, the Alphonso mangoes and the grapes of Nashik.
• The state pioneered the use of water saving technologies, such as drip and sprinkler irrigation and the watershed programme, and accounts for 60 per cent of the total area under drip irrigation in the country.
•  The Government of India (GoI) has announced the creation of the Agri Export Zone (AEZ) for promoting greater exports of fresh and processed agricultural produce from the country. The state has identified eight potential horticultural crops of commercial importance for the AEZ.
• The main food crops of Maharashtra are mangoes, grapes, bananas, oranges, wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, and pulses. Cash crops include groundnut, cotton, sugarcane, turmeric and tobacco.
• Sugar output in the state in 2007–08 was pegged at 909 lakh million tonnes with an average recovery rate of 11.9 per cent.
• Maharashtra is one of the largest producers of jowar, tur, cotton, onion, cashew nut, grapes, bananas, oranges, pomegranate and long-stem cut flowers.
•  It is the second-largest producer of soya bean and sugarcane.
• Apart from 16 major fruit crops, spices, medicinal and aromatic plant plantations have also been set up.
• State’s strength in the industry:
  • Diverse agro climatic conditions suitable to cultivation of a wide range of crops.
  • Strong industrial base with scope for agro-processing and agro exports.
  • Well-developed basic infrastructure.
  • Four agriculture universities and a chain of agriculture research institutions.
  • Vibrant crop-based farmer organisations like Mahagrape, Maha mango, etc.
  • Predominance of cash crops in irrigated areas.
  • More than 1.3 million hectares under fruit cultivation.

Financial services

• The presence of a robust financial infrastructure is an asset for the state.
• Key financial institutions, such as the Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange and the RBI, are located in the state.
• Over 95 per cent of the value of stock exchange deals is in Mumbai.
• Over 90 per cent of India’s mutual funds are registered in the state.
• Over 90 per cent of merchant banking transactions are structured in Mumbai.
• Around 20 per cent of the aggregate deposits of scheduled commercial banks are in Mumbai.
• The three largest industrial groups in India —namely, Tata Group, AV Birla Group and Reliance —have their flagship companies in Maharashtra.
• Maharashtra also enjoys the largest share of the total FDI and foreign collaborations approved by the Government of India. These include Coco Cola, Mercedes Benz, Siemens, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, among others.

Telecom

• The state has witnessed rapid development in telecommunications services over the last decade.
• Maharashtra is the second-largest GSM market with 11.2 million subscribers in 2006–07.
• By March 2008, the number of PCOs under MTNL and BSNL were 0.16 million and 0.31 million, respectively.
• The number of mobile phone users per lakh population at the end of December 2008 in the state was 40,713.

Telecom status of Maharashtra as on June 30, 2009

Source: Maharashtra Telecom Circle, www.maharashtra.bsnl.com

Media and Entertainment

• Mumbai is the nerve centre of the Indian film, media and entertainment industry.
• Mumbai is also the celluloid capital of India. The city is home to the country’s first I-MAX dome theatre as well as cinema multiplex.
• The city has famous film studios such as Film City in Goregaon, Natraj in Andheri and RK Studio in Chembur.
• Maharashtra is also home to the famous Film and Televsion Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. Established in 1960, the FTII is one of the oldest and best institutes in the field of film making and television programme production.
• The Hindi film industry is worth nearly US$ 1.22 billion and presents a huge investment opportunity in several areas such as film production, studios (indoor and outdoor), music recording, editing, choreography, etc.

Source for Sectoral Information: Ibef.org