Having excluded union territory-turned states Delhi and Goa from the overall state competitiveness rankings, it was impossible to ignore the National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi or rather the bigger whole that is the National Capital Region.

And NCR as a whole is able to do what Delhi has failed to till now — generate enough economic activity to utilise the resources available, and attract investments. According to the Haryana government’s website, there are more than 400 large-and-medium-scale units in Gurgaon that attracted investments worth about Rs 9,000 crore in 2006-07 and around 8,000 small-scale units which brought in Rs 900 crore.

The intensity of competition among state governments within the NCR is exciting. “The competition is intense particularly among the two states to grant fast approvals and clearance in places, adjoining the border with NCT,” says Amit Sinha, president of Indicus Analytics, a Delhi-based research firm.

Sample this: the annual turnover in the Gurgaon industrial sector crossed Rs 45,000 crore in 2006-07 with investments of more than Rs 10,000 crore. It is estimated to be in the region of Rs 75,000 crore at the end of 2008. Both Greater Noida and Gurgaon have succeeded in attracting big names such as Accenture, Dell and Samsung. UP and Haryana governments have been rolling out the red carpet for automobile, IT and ITeS, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.

The investments in NCR is also a reflection of Delhi’s geographical proximity — its rail and air connectivity is the best in the country. And this is the muscle that Delhi flexes to bargain with other states, in the absence of any major investments of its own. “The agenda of National Capital Region Planning Board are predominantly Delhi-centric, with other members planning their policy around it,” says a senior bureaucrat from Haryana, who did not wish to be identified.

Source: Business World