New Delhi: Chhattisgarh on Thursday secured investment commitments of Rs 13,840 crore at the Industry Dialogue on Green Steel, with the proposed projects expected to generate 10,921 direct and indirect employment opportunities, officials said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai attended the event titled 'Chhattisgarh Industry Dialogue on Green Steel', organised by the state government in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as the chief guest, an official statement said.
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Sai said steel and mining have laid the foundation of Chhattisgarh's industrial identity, but there needs to be a greater value addition within the state.
"Steel and mining are the foundation on which Chhattisgarh's industrial identity was built, and they will remain our strength. But the time has come to build the next floor on that foundation," he said.
"Our steel should no longer leave the state in its primary form. It should be converted here into downstream and specialty products for auto components, engineering goods, railways, defence and solar equipment. If the value addition happens in Chhattisgarh, the jobs are created in Chhattisgarh. That is the shift this Dialogue is about, and the government will support every investor who wants to be part of it," he added.
The global transition towards green steel, driven by zero-carbon commitments, presented an opportunity for Chhattisgarh, he said.
The state, with a power surplus of more than 26,000 MW and competitive industrial tariffs, is particularly suited for energy-intensive downstream manufacturing, he said.
Chhattisgarh has received investment proposals worth nearly Rs 8 lakh crore over the past 18 months under its Industrial Development Policy 2024-30, covering sectors such as artificial intelligence and data centres, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, textiles and agro-processing, besides traditional industries, the chief minister said.
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The state government has also undertaken a series of regulatory reforms to improve the investment climate. Chhattisgarh recently enacted the Ease of Doing Business Act, introducing a risk-based regulatory frame, self-certification for low-risk enterprises and deemed approvals in cases where applications are not processed within prescribed timelines, he said.
"Chhattisgarh's red carpet is open for investors. Our policy is clear, our processes are transparent, approvals come within defined timelines, and there is no place for red tape," Sai said.
"We will work together, and we will succeed together," he added.
According to the CRISIL-NITI Aayog Investment Friendliness Index 2026, Chhattisgarh ranked first among major states in Regulatory Ease and Institutional Environment and second in Environmental Resilience, a government official said.
The state was also recently conferred the GeM Sustainable Procurement Award at the 10th Foundation Day celebrations of the Government e-Marketplace in New Delhi, he noted.
Industrial development is also being expanded beyond the established Raipur-Bhilai belt, with four new industrial parks sanctioned in Rajnandgaon, Dhamtari, Janjgir-Champa and Bastar districts, he said.
The Centre has also approved an Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC 2.0) spread over around 306 acres in Rajnandgaon. It is expected to attract investments of more than Rs 23,000 crore and generate nearly 9,000 jobs, with companies from the semiconductor, electric vehicle and smart electronics sectors showing interest, the official said.
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