“We want long-term partners”: Madhya Pradesh CM pitches UAE investors, has Dh20.5 billion pipeline

Dubai: Madhya Pradesh has secured investment proposals worth more than ₹53,000 crore (Dh20.5 billion) in green energy, urban development, health and education during Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's three-day visit to the UAE, officials said.

The deals span energy, technology, education, healthcare, logistics and retail.

Yadav also said his government had promised direct UAE-Madhya Pradesh flights last year. That promise was fulfilled this year with the Air India Express Indore-Abu Dhabi service - Madhya Pradesh's first international flight, funded under its Civil Aviation Policy 2025.

"Last year, we had promised direct flights between UAE and Madhya Pradesh. We launched it. Direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Indore were launched – next month, there are talks to launch direct flights between Sharjah and Bhopal," Yadav told Gulf News on the sidelines of the investment meet.

An Abu Dhabi -Indore service is already running, he added.

Big payout

Yadav said Madhya Pradesh's economy is growing at more than 11 per cent, and Yadav framed the Dubai trip as part of a wider push under India's federal government.

"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said Dubai... offers a major window of opportunity," Yadav said, referring to trade and business.

"I am satisfied that we are progressing with considerable success in the spirit with which we came," he said, noting that Bihar had also sent ministers to pitch investment in Dubai this year.

Mega projects

According to state officials, two large-ticket proposals emerged from the visit. Yadav met Rana Holdings Limited chairman and managing director Dr Darshan Singh Rana to discuss large-scale investment in the state's green hydrogen, solar, data-centre and smart manufacturing sectors.

The company presented plans for a 2,000MW solar portfolio, a 200MW green hydrogen plant, a 50MW AI and compute data centre — expandable to 200MW — a 30,000 MTPA critical minerals recovery and recycling complex, and an integrated smart manufacturing hub.

Combined, the projects carry investment potential of about ₹35,200 crore (Dh13.6 billion) and would, the official said, "significantly transform Madhya Pradesh's energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and digital infrastructure."

A second firm presented a concept for a 50-megawatt AI factory, worth close to ₹18,000 crore (Dh7 billion), with scope to expand beyond 100 megawatts, the official said.

Corporate deals

Yadav said he met Emaar's leadership, Lulu Group chairman Yusuffali M.A., and His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, during the visit.

"Lulu has expressed interest in opening a food processing unit... and their own store too, so we are going to give them the space for this. We will be signing an MoU," Yadav told Gulf News.

In a separate statement, Ali expressed willingness to invest ₹2,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh for shopping malls, LuLu hypermarkets and a food-processing centre.

He also said a high-level delegation led by LuLu Group Chief Operating Officer A.V. Anand Ram would visit Madhya Pradesh shortly for further discussions on the proposed investments.

Yadav also invited Yusuff Ali to attend the Madhya Pradesh Investors Summit, scheduled to be held in Bhopal in the first week of January next year

On Ras Al Khaimah, he said: "We are going to send them members of our team and they will be sending their own people so people can do business and move forward."

Yadav also held one-on-one talks with GEMS Education chairman Sunny Varkey on setting up K-12 schools, teacher training and "future-oriented educational campuses at international standards," according to official inputs. Separately, he discussed multi-speciality hospitals, digital health, telemedicine, and medical and nursing education with representatives from Pure Health.

The chief minister also raised investment opportunities in multi-modal logistics parks, warehousing, cold-chain infrastructure, tourism and hospitality with the Sharaf Group, and in food processing, retail, agricultural procurement, distribution networks and cold-chain infrastructure with Choithrams, the officials said.

CEPA Push

Yadav's office pointed to the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as a central plank of the state's Gulf strategy.

"The India-UAE CEPA is not merely a trade agreement; it represents a new chapter in investment, manufacturing and export cooperation," Yadav said, citing food processing, agricultural exports, textiles, pharmaceuticals, logistics and renewable energy as areas of "natural partnerships" with the UAE.

"Madhya Pradesh is India's food basket, while the UAE gives the highest priority to food security. Our objective is... to establish Madhya Pradesh as a reliable supply and value-addition hub for the UAE and Gulf countries," he said.

He said talks with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi were "primarily aimed at maximising the opportunities arising from the India-UAE CEPA and bringing those opportunities to Madhya Pradesh." He also confirmed meetings with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which the state has invited to send a delegation to its Global Investors Summit 2027.

Reform drive

Yadav pointed to a legislative overhaul as evidence the state is easier to invest in than before. "In a way, we have abolished over 900 laws," he told Gulf News, adding that this had improved "the ease, stability, and transparency of trade and business" in the state.

His office said the Madhya Pradesh Ease of Doing Business Act 2026, notified on 20 August 2026, has decriminalised 108 offences under 26 Acts, reduced or simplified more than 2,700 compliances, and repealed 925 Acts. Faceless registration, a digital single-window system and a building-approval platform called ABPAS 3.0 have also been introduced.

Ground progress

Yadav cited projects he said were already running. A transformer plant from CG Power and Industrial Solutions in Sehore — on land allotted last year — rolled out its first unit four days before.

He also said a roughly 2,000MW pumped-storage project, which he described as India's largest, would be commissioned "in two to three months," and that Godrej had started a consumer-goods plant in Gwalior.

On defence manufacturing, Yadav cited a ₹4,000 crore investment in Shivpuri and a ₹2,000 crore plant coming up in Guna, alongside plans by the Adani Group to develop a defence and cement zone in Gwalior.

Investor confidence

Yadav's office said land has been allocated for projects worth ₹2.67 lakh crore in total, with construction under way at 480 industrial units and production already running at 750 MSMEs and large industrial units.

It said the 480 units under construction are expected to generate around 120,000 jobs, while the 750 units already in production have created 57,600 jobs, with a further 272,000 expected once land-allocated projects come online.

He said returns for investors in the state were running at "not less than 11-12 per cent."

Yadav said the state has received investment proposals worth more than ₹34 lakh crore over the past two and a half years, of which more than 30 per cent of projects have been implemented.

Long game

Yadav extended a formal invitation to investors to attend the Global Investors Summit (GIS-2027) in Bhopal in January 2027. "Madhya Pradesh is the heart of India and will welcome investors with open arms," he said.

He added, "Come to Madhya Pradesh, invest and become partners in our development journey," he said. "We are not merely inviting investment. We are inviting long-term partnerships and shared development."