Maharashtra lost a lot of startups to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, says Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra lost a lot of startups to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, said deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, highlighting how the government is now working towards improving infrastructure to bring companies back to the state.

The deputy chief minister said that Maharashtra lost startups to other states due to a lack of infrastructure.

“It was quite unaffordable to stay in Mumbai for businesses and that's why they went to Bengaluru and Hyderabad,” said Fadnavis, speaking at the Nasscom Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) 2023.

However, he believes that Maharashtra is the real startup capital.

“Maharashtra is the real startup capital because out of the 80,000 (DPIIT-registered startups), 15,000, and around 25 unicorns are in Maharashtra. We were the first to have our own fintech policy which was actually very forward-looking,” Fadnavis said.

Karnataka was the first state to announce a startup policy in 2015. In December of last year, the state revised it. In 2018, Maharashtra announced its startup policy. It was, however, the first in India to develop a separate fintech policy.

Fadnavis was in conversation with Anant Maheshwari, President of Microsoft India, and vice-chairperson of Nasscom.

He said that Maharashtra is currently constructing infrastructure in Mumbai to restore that position. He said that the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, a 22-kilometer bridge being built by the state, will be operational by the end of this year or early next year.

“The time of travel will be reduced to less than one hour from one corner of Mumbai to another. I believe the rentals will also come down. So we are trying to create a new ecosystem for those who have gone to Bengaluru or Hyderabad to come back and those who are here, to stay back. That is next on the agenda,”  he added.

The deputy chief minister praised the digital public goods infrastructure, but added that the delivery system was previously the country's biggest problem.

“I remember honourable former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ji saying that when I send one rupee from Delhi only 15% reaches to the last man. Recently, our honourable Prime Minister, with just one click, gave PM Kisaan Nidhi to 12 Crore farmers. There was not a single leakage, every single penny reached the last man,” he added.
Fadnavis believes that such a public delivery system could save the government around two lakh crore, which is now being used for the "betterment of people."