Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the current chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (MP) of India, is scheduled to visit Korea and Japan in the end of September with a proposal for setting up exclusive industrial zones for Korea and Japan./ Photo: Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Facebook account

1

By Ha Man-joo, India correspondent, AsiaToday - The India state of Madhya Pradesh is reportedly looking to set up a Korean exclusive industrial zone.

According to Madhya Pradesh state government and local media outlets on September 6, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is scheduled to visit Korea and Japan in the end of this month with a detailed proposal for setting up exclusive industrial zones for the two countries on 1,200 acres of land earmarked in Pithampur near Indore. The state government has recently taken back its 4,100 acres of unused land that was allocated for auto-testing track project.

The Korean exclusive industrial zone proposal of Madhya Pradesh of 72.6 million people comes following Rajasthan and Punjab states' industrial zones. It shows that state governments are seeking to attract Korean businesses.

India's state governments are particularly seeking to attract Korean manufacturing and IT companies to meet the Narendra Modi government's "Make in India", and "Smart India" initiatives. Besides, Korea's image as a leader in manufacturing and IT has been built by many Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai, and LG Electronics, which are large players in Indian market.

CII Madhya Pradesh state council president Girish Mangla said, "The availability of land has attracted investments from Japan while South Korean companies are keen to have manufacturing bases in India.

The MP government is setting up an investment plan based on a belief that infrastructure development is the key to attract both Korean and Japanese businesses.

"We have prepared a detailed project report for exclusive industrial zones for Korean and Japanese investors with an estimated investment of `570 crore on infrastructure," an official of Indore city said.