Maharashtra Economic Survey points to wide gap in proposed investments and implementation

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) The Maharashtra Economic Survey 2025-26 flagged the significant gap between proposed investments and actual project implementation even as the state economy continues to show robust growth.

Intended investments recorded under Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) Part A during 2024 (up to August) stood at Rs 1,16,217 crore, while the value of projects that actually commenced business (IEM Part B) was only Rs 27,357 crore, the survey pointed out.

Maharashtra's real Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is projected to grow at 7.9 per cent in 2025-26, slightly higher than the projected national GDP growth of 7.4 per cent. In absolute terms, the nominal GSDP is estimated to reach Rs 51,00,597 crore, while real GSDP at 2011-12 constant prices is projected at Rs 28,82,699 crore, it said.

The survey said the state has maintained its position as the largest contributor to the national economy, accounting for about 14 per cent of India's nominal GDP in 2024-25.

However, the report highlighted structural imbalances in the state economy, noting that it remains heavily skewed towards the services sector.

The services sector contributed 63.1 per cent to Maharashtra's nominal Gross State Value Added (GSVA) in 2024-25, far exceeding the share of industry at 25.7 per cent and agriculture at 11.2 per cent, it said.

"The services sector is projected to grow by 9.0 per cent in 2025-26, driven mainly by financial, real estate and professional services. In contrast, agriculture and allied activities are expected to witness a sharp slowdown, with growth projected to decline to 3.4 per cent in 2025-26 from 9.1 per cent in the previous year," it said.

The report also flagged stagnation in certain industrial segments, with the mining and quarrying sub-sector expected to grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2025-26.

It further pointed to a mismatch between rapid infrastructure creation and slower growth in utilities.

While the construction sector recorded strong expansion of 6.3 per cent in 2024-25 and is projected to grow by 7.8 per cent in 2025-26, the electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services sector grew by only 1.1 per cent in 2024-25, the survey said.

The report attributed this to a marginal decline in electricity generation in the state, which fell from 1,41,039 million units in 2023-24 to 1,40,171 million units in 2024-25.

The survey also pointed to structural imbalances in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ecosystem.

"Of the 63.85 lakh MSMEs registered on the Udyam portal in the state up to December 2025, as many as 62.11 lakh are micro enterprises, while small enterprises account for 1.55 lakh and medium enterprises just 0.18 lakh," it said.

Regional disparities in industrial development were also highlighted.

"Most high-value investments and IT infrastructure remain concentrated in the western corridor of the state, particularly in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. Of the 669 approved private IT parks in Maharashtra, 652 are located in these three districts, while Nagpur has five and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar four," the report said.

Despite these challenges, Maharashtra continues to attract a large share of foreign investments, receiving Rs 6,97,304 crore in FDI between October 2019 and March 2025, accounting for about 31 per cent of the country's total inflows, the survey added. PTI ND BNM