Rajasthan is well known for its beautiful palaces, lakes, forts, culture, history and wedding locales.
But few know that the Indian desert state also gets 320 days of sunshine every year. That is an area its government is keen to tap as it sought investments from Singapore government agencies and businesses this week.
“Renewable energy is something that comes naturally to Rajasthan,” explained the state’s Industry and Commerce Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore at the Rising Rajasthan roadshow at the Shangri-la Hotel on Tuesday. “We are already producing about 20 gigawatts. Our target is an ambitious 100 gigawatts in the next four years.
“The response has been good. The way things are going, the way people are approaching us, I think that target of four years is going to be achieved in the next two years.”
Mr Rathore, a silver medallist in shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics, pointed out that Rajasthan is seeking investments in different sectors.
“We have opportunities in logistics and infrastructure, and want to build an entire high-tech city next to Delhi,” he said. “The drive from Delhi to Jaipur (Rajasthan’s capital) is about two and a half hours, and the agricultural land on both sides of the expressway – that’s where we intend to build the city.”
“We are appealing to all, whatever they specialise in, to participate in the development of Rajasthan.”
Mr Rathore, who was accompanied by Rajasthan’s chief secretary and principal secretary (medical and health), is hoping to leverage on Singapore’s expertise in urban and inland port development and the setting up of a mega petrochemical plant – the state ranks second in India for crude oil and natural gas production.
During his four-day visit here, the Rajasthan minister also met Singapore’s Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng and Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam.
The Rajasthan delegation sought the cooperation of the Singapore government in facilitating investment in the state and discussed areas of collaboration in sectors such as solar energy, tourism and the setting up of industrial parks.
Mr Rathore also invited the Singapore government to participate in the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit 2024, which will be held in Jaipur from Dec 9 to11.
After meetings with officials at Enterprise Singapore as well as Singapore firms such as DP Urban, EnvironSens and Blackstone, Mr Rathore was bullish about the investments and expertise that will flow in.
Singapore company Genesis Ray, which is focused on renewable energy and uses precision tools to produce transformative operational results, has already offered its expertise to the Rajasthan government.
“We can collect data from land points in the state which will reveal their energy potential,” said Mr Nitin Jain, co-founder of Grow Asia, the parent company of Genesis. “This will help companies from south-east Asia and others compare how Rajasthan stacks up against other investment locations.”
UTI International (Singapore) chief operating officer Manish Khandelwal, who hails from Jaipur, said Rajasthan is a favourable place for foreign investments as it has excellent law and order and talent and infrastructure development compared to other Indian states. “Rajasthan is way ahead in banking and ease of doing business,” he said. “The governance is also top class.”
Mr Rathore is taking inspiration from Singapore, which he said is “an example of the many successes that a country can achieve”. “We have a mission and a vision of taking our economy from US$150 billion to over US$400 billion in the next four years,” he said. “Rajasthan has the land, the sunshine, a young population and a bureaucracy committed to supporting businesses. It also has the political will to make things happen.”
