Times Network at Davos: Devendra Fadnavis Explains Why Maharashtra Is 'Ahead Of The Curve'

Davos: Maharashtra is the capital of "Data center capital of India", having 60 per cent of the data center capacity in the country, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told Times Now on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in Switzerland. "Maharashtra is ahead of the curve," he said. "These days we say that data is the new oil, as it has surpassed oil in absolute terms. Data center is a big ecosystem and I am happy to say that Maharashtra is the capital of data center capital of India," he said. Explaining the steps taken by his government to keep Maharashtra "ahead of the curve", Fadnavis said: "We have signed over Rs 75,000 crore worth MoUs with tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft. We are also planning an innovation city in New Mumbai, for which we are in talks with potential investors". Explaining further, he said that a large number of companies have shown interest to set up their data centers in Maharashtra. "We had positive talks with a number of global companies. The list is long. If you take a look at the 32 MoUs we have signed today, the list includes global companies, Indian companies operating at a global scale and also local companies". Fadnavis also praised the presence of other Indian states at Davos. "This is competitive fedralism. We must have competitive fedralism and also collaborative federalism. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ease of business doing index, all the states thought we must work towards getting investments to our states. This is very healthy competition". If India has to grow then all the states need to grow, he said. "There was a time when states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu used to top investments. Now there are 12 states that are trying to drive-in investments," he added. ALSO READ: AI Centers, Fortune 500 Deals And More: UP's Grand $1 Trillion Push At Davos - EXCLUSIVE India has sent its largest-ever delegation at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos. Putting aside their party affiliations, five union ministers and three state chief ministers came together in the Swiss skiing resort town for the annual meeting. Nearly 100 CEOs and leaders from government, civil society, and the arts are also in attendance at the event. "In the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is a lot of interest in understanding our thought process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policy, digital transformation, and the way India has created a new digital architecture under the Digital India programme,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who led the Indian delegation, said before departing for Davos. Two India pavilions, just a few blocks apart on the same side of the famous Promenade street, together house all lounges and meeting rooms for the union ministers, central government departments and state governments. The first one has pavilions of Kerala, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. Apart from the delegation from these states, the second one has pavilions of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Industry body CII is also present with a large delegation of CEOs and other business leaders. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Business Economy and around the world.