Chhattisgarh is the 17th most populated state in the country. A resource-rich state, it is a source of electricity and steel for the country, accounting for 15% of total steel produced. Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest-developing states in India.
Industrial sector
Power sector
Chhattisgarh is one of the few states of India where the power sector is effectively developed. Based on the current production of surplus electric power, the position of the State is comfortable and profitable. The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) is in a strong position to meet the electricity requirement of the new state and is in good financial health. Chhattisgarh provides electricity to several other states because of surplus production.
In Chhattisgarh, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (|NTPC) has Sipat Thermal Power Station with a capacity of 2,980 MW at Sipat, Bilaspur; GMR Power in Tilda and Korba Super Thermal Power Station with a capacity of 2,600 MW at Korba, while CSEB’s units have a thermal capacity of 1,780 MW and hydel capacity of 130 MW. Apart from NTPC and CSEB, there are a number of private generation units of large and small capacity. The state government has pursued a liberal policy with regard to captive generation which has resulted in a number of private players coming up.
The state has potential of 61,000 MW of additional thermal power in terms of availability of coal for more than 100 years and more than 2,500 MW hydel capacity. To use this vast potential, substantial additions to the existing generation capacity are already under way.
Steel sector
The steel industry is one of the biggest heavy industries of Chhattisgarh. Bhilai Steel Plant, Bhilai operated by SAIL, with a capacity of 5.4 million tonnes per year, is regarded as a significant growth indicator of the state. More than 100 steel rolling mills, 90 sponge iron plants and ferro-alloy units are in Chhattisgarh. Along with Bhilai, today Raipur, Bilaspur, Korba and Raigarh have become the steel hub of Chhattisgarh. Today, Raipur has become the center of the steel sector, the biggest market for steel in India.
Aluminium sector
The aluminium industry of Chhattisgarh was established by Bharat Aluminium Company Limited, which has a capacity of around one million tonnes each year.
Natural resources
Forest
Forests occupy 41.33% of the total area (as per the latest report by the Indian Forest Service) and the rich forest resources include wood, tendu leaves, honey and lac. Approximately 3%is under very dense forest, 25.97% is moderately dense, 12.28% is open forest and 0.09%is scrub.
Mineral deposits
Chhattisgarh is located in central India. It is among the richest Indian states in terms of mineral wealth, with 28 varieties of major minerals, including diamonds. Chhattisgarh is ranked fifth in terms of value of major mineral production in India.
It produces 20% of the country’s total cement produce. It has the highest output of coal in the country with second highest reserves. It is third in iron ore production and first in tin production. Limestone, dolomite and bauxite are abundant. It is the only tin-ore producing state in India. Other commercially extracted minerals include corandum, garnet, quartz, marble, alexandrite and diamonds.
Chhattisgarh is the only state in India that produces tin concentrates. The state accounts for 35.4 per cent of tin ore reserves of India. Tin concentrate production in the state stood at 8.81 million tonnes.
Information and technologies
In recent years, Chhattisgarh is also getting exposure in information technology (IT) projects and consultancy. Its government is also promoting IT and has set up a body to take care of the IT solutions. The body, known as CHIPS, is providing large IT projects such as Choice, Swan, etc.
Major companies
Major companies with a presence in the state include:
- Metal: Bhilai Steel Plant, Jindal Steel and Power, Bharat Aluminium Company
- Oil: Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Engineering: Simplex Casting Ltd,
- Real estate: CHPL-Dream-Homes (Chouhan Housing Pvt Ltd.)
- Mining: NMDC, South Eastern Coalfields
- Power : NTPC, Lanco Infratech, KSK Energy Ventures, Vandana Vidyut, Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company, Jindal Power Limited.
Exports
Nearly 75% of exports comes from Bhilai and the remaining from Urla, Bhanpuri and Sirgitti. The major exports products include steel, handicrafts, handlooms, blended yarn, food and agri-products, iron, aluminium, cement, minerals and engineering products. CSIDC (Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Limited) is the nodal agency of the Government of Chhattisgarh for export promotion in the state.
Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) is a Government of Chhattisgarh undertaking (registered under the Companies Act, 1956) under the administrative control of Department of Commerce & Industry and is the nodal agency to facilitate and promote industrial development in the State. CSIDC has been primarily involved in industrial promotion and facilitation; export promotion; industrial potential surveys; land allotment to industries; entrepreneurship development; training; public private partnerships (PPP); and development, maintenance and up gradation of industrial areas.
It acts as the facilitator for development of small, medium and large industries in the State . It provides escort services and endeavors to remove bottlenecks in industrial development. It conceptualizes, conceives, plans, implements and maintenance of various industrial infrastructural facilities. Over the years, CSIDC has played a pioneering role in development of large industrial growth centres and industrial areas at Urla, Siltara, Sirgitti and Tifra; and the proposed Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC); Information Technology (IT) Park; and Mega Food Park. It also works for providing raw materials like iron and steel, coal to local SSI and other units and also engaged in testing and certification services of industrial and other products and run production units manufacturing furniture and agricultural implements.
Advantage Chhattisgarh:
| Ease of Doing Business | Centrally Located & Well Connected | Skilled manpower & knowledge Hub |
| Lower cost of Doing Business | Rich in Natural Resources | State of the art Infrastructure |
| Access to Major Markets | Developed Core Sectors- mineral & energy rich | Stable & Progressive Government |
The natural resources, policy incentives and infrastructure in the state support investments in the iron and steel, cement and power sectors. Korba district in Chhattisgarh is known as the power capital of India. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Government plans to increase power generation capacity by 30,000 MW. The state accounts for 22.60 per cent of coal production and 19.80 per cent of steel/sponge iron production in India. Moreover, considerable reserves of bauxite, limestone and quartzite are available in the state.
Between 2004-05 and 2015-16, the Gross state domestic product (GSDP) of the state grew at a CAGR of 11.83 per cent to US$ 36.6 billion whereas the net state domestic product (NSDP) grew at a CAGR of 10.21 per cent to US$ 26.9 billion.
Chhattisgarh is making significant investments in industrial infrastructure. The Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) has set up industrial growth centres, five industrial parks and three integrated infrastructure development centres (IIDC). The state has a notified special economic zone (SEZ) in Rajnandgaon District.
The following are some of the major initiatives taken by the government to promote Chhattisgarh as an investment destination:
- A wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses have been announced under the state’s Industrial Policy 2014-19.
- The Government of Chhattisgarh plans to set up a food processing park in Rajnandgaon district on around 303 hectares of land.
- During 2015-16, the state government proposed an outlay of US$ 13.27 million under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and released US$ 6.63 million till November 2015.
- Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Urban Development Ministry approved an investment of US$ 331.4 million for infrastructure development of 9 cities in Chhattisgarh.
- The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and IRCON International Ltd for the construction of about 300 km of rail network in the state. The project would have two rail corridors – East Corridor and East-West Corridor.
- Till March 2015, around 17,615 small industries have been established in the state, which are generating 102,241 employment opportunities. For the same period of time, around 162 large industries have been established in the state with 21,693 employment opportunities.
- As per Budget 2015-16, an investment of US$ 1.66 billion is estimated for upgradation of 2,000 km of existing roads under the PPP mode. Under Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Scheme, US$ 116.6 million has been allocated for the road connectivity in the rural areas.