Sena (UBT) politician Ambadas Danve seeks white paper on Davos FDI claims, raises doubts over ‘conversion rate’

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Shiv Sena (UBT) member and former leader of opposition in legislative council Ambadas Danve on Friday urged Maharashtra govt to present a white paper detailing the actual conversion of foreign direct investment (FDI) announcements made at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos over the last three years. He alleged that several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed only to inflate investment figures, without resulting in real projects or employment.Raising doubts about the state's Davos outreach, Danve demanded clarity from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and industries minister Uday Samant on what he described as the "conversion rate" of these investment announcements. In a social media post tagging both leaders, he questioned whether the widely publicised investment numbers were "an inflated bubble or actual reality.""Every year, govt visits Davos and repeats the same narrative of MoUs worth lakhs of crores of rupees. But what is the situation on the ground? The CM must respond," Danve told reporters.Citing specific examples, Sena (UBT) politician pointed to the ‘New Era Cleantech' project announced in 2023, which had promised 15,000 jobs in Chandrapur. "Two years have passed, yet not a single brick has been laid. Was this investment only on paper? Is this not a betrayal of Vidarbha's youth?" he asked.He also questioned the logic of signing agreements with companies already well-established in Maharashtra. Referring to groups like Lodha, Raheja, Panchshil and SBG, Danve said, "These are not foreign firms. They already operate here. Why spend crores of rupees of public money to travel to Switzerland just to sign MoUs with them? Is the intention merely to inflate FDI figures?"Highlighting potential financial risks, Danve warned that MoUs signed at international events often enable firms to secure large bank loans without scrutiny of their financial strength. "Projects like Surjagad Ispat use such MoUs to obtain big loans. If these projects collapse, public money is at risk. Is the government allowing banks' treasuries to be drained without proper checks?" he asked.Danve further demanded details on how many Davos MoUs were later abandoned, the reasons cited by companies for withdrawing, and the actual number of jobs generated so far. "What is the conversion rate of these agreements? How many youths have truly found employment?" he said.Calling for a change in approach, Danve urged the govt to move away from "event-driven politics" and publish a transparent, comprehensive white paper on investments and employment in Maharashtra. "The time has come to go beyond announcements and present a clear account of investments and job creation," he added.