An overview
Pune is the most industrialised districts in western Maharashtra, which is famous for its educational, research and development institutions and is a famous IT hub too. It is located 160 km south-east from Mumbai. The Pune urban area is spread across 700 sq km and the per capita net district domestic product of the city was Rs 60,375 in FY07. Pune’s district population was 7.23 mn according to the Census 2001.

Infrastructure
Pune’s infrastructure is well-developed, which makes it one of the leading business centres in the country. It is well-connected by roads, railways and airways.

Highways & Roadways: The three national highways that are connected to Pune are Mumbai-Bangalore (NH4), Pune- Solapur-Hyderabad (NH9) and Pune-Nashik (NH50). Pune is also connected to other major cities of Maharashtra through a network of good roads. The express highway that connects Pune and Mumbai provides greater connectivity between the two cities.

Rail Network: Pune and Daund are the two railway junctions in the district. The rail network consists of both broad gauge (electrified and non-electrified) double track as well as single track lines. The broad gauge single and double track rail length within the district spans across a total of 311 km, of which, single line constitute 162 km and the double line 149 km.

Air Routes: Pune is well-connected with the rest of the country by air. All major domestic airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines etc operate in Pune. Pune is located 12 km away from the Pune airport at Lohgaon. The airport has acquired the status of an international airport and has flights to international destinations like Dubai and Frankfurt.

Industrial Set-up
Traditionally, Pune has been known for its agriculture and agro businesses. For several years, agriculture has been the mainstay of Pune’s economy. However, in the past few years, Pune has emerged as one of the major business centres in Maharashtra. Today, it serves as a base for various large and small units operating in sectors like auto components, engineering, IT/ITeS BPO, pharmaceuticals and food processing.

Pune is well known for its food processing industry and the demand-supply dynamics in the region work out very favourably for this industry. The food processing units in Pune operate in various segments like milk and milk products, fruit and vegetable processed products, bakeries, ready-to-eat foods etc. Pune’s proximity to urban markets such as Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur; its cosmopolitan nature; its changing food habits; its connectivity to JNPT, and hence the convenience of exporting, have aided the food processing sector to flourish.

Pune has also emerged as one of the top investment destinations for automobile and auto components makers. Big companies from the automotive industry like Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Force Motors are present in Pune. Additionally, various international players like General Motors and Volkswagen are also present in Pune.

The information technology and business process outsourcing segments have also emerged as the growth drivers of Pune’s economy. Many IT parks have sprung up in the city to keep pace with the growing software industry and to encourage new IT companies to set up their base in Pune. Many leading Indian software companies like Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Patni Computer Systems, Accenture and some foreign players are already present in Pune.

The industries in Pune are well-supported by some major companies that are operating in different sectors. Table below contains a list of some major companies operating in Pune.

Apart from these companies, many small-scale and ancillary units are also located in the industrial areas developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in and around Pune. The city has the highest number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and large-scale units in the state. The district accounts for 49.24% of MSME units and 47.47% of large-scale units in Maharashtra.

Industry Associations
There are many associations in Pune that are engaged in developing and promoting the industries in the city. A few industrial associations in Pune operate at the national level also, like the Association for Promotion of Plastics and the Automotive Research Association of India. The table below lists down some associations that are present in Pune:

Educational Institutions
Large numbers of educational institutes are present in Pune that offer courses in variety of subjects such as medicine, engineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, mass communication, astronomy and more. Pune also houses many universities like Bharti Vidyapeeth, Tilak Maharashtra University, Symbiosis University, University of Pune, IGNOU, Dnyaneshwar Vidyapeeth etc. The University of Pune is one of the oldest universities in Maharashtra that has more than 260 affiliated educational institutes and colleges from all parts of Maharashtra. The table below lists down a few prominent educational institutions present in Pune:

Government Agencies
Various government organisations are present in Pune that provide facilities to the industries operating in the state. Given below are some government organisations that operate in Pune:

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) was established in 1962. It is a premium industrial infrastructure development agency instituted by the Government of Maharashtra. MIDC functions as a special planning authority that plans industrial areas for systematic industrial development. It has built around 225 industrial complexes in 130,000 acres of land. It has developed industrial areas with essential infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity and other services to entrepreneurs. The state government has implemented various important programmes such as establishment of growth centres, establishment of mini-industrial areas and setting-up of ‘Five Star’ industrial areas with the help of MIDC, which have facilitated faster industrial development in Pune.

According to the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2007-08, Pune has the highest number of MIDC industrial areas in the state till March 31, 2007. Pune is also among the most prominent destinations for investments in industrial units.

Maharashtra State Financial Corporation
Maharashtra State Financial Corporation (MSFC) is a statutory corporation that provides medium and long-term assistance to small and medium-scale industries for acquiring fixed assets like land, building, plant and machinery. The State of Maharashtra, State of Goa and the Union Territory of Daman & Diu fall under its jurisdiction.

The State Industrial & Investment Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (SICOM)
SICOM is a premium financial institution that was established by the Government of Maharashtra in 1966 as a 100% stateowned company to industrialise backward areas of the state. SICOM provides tailor-made financial solutions and advisory services to entrepreneurs, companies in the private and public sector and government bodies.

Maharashtra Economic Development Council
Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) was established in 1957 jointly by all prominent Chambers of Commerce & Business and Industry Associations in Maharashtra. MEDC acts as an investment facilitator and as a catalyst in economic development. It undertakes special research projects and brings out studies and reports on various aspects of the economy in general and trade and industry in particular.

Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation
Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC) was set up in 1962 to assist the development of small-scale industries. MSSIDC provides support services like consultancy, counseling, marketing, training in technical and managerial aspects, commercial warehousing, entrepreneurship development programme etc.

Assistance by the Government of Maharashtra
The Government of Maharashtra has initiated several measures to promote the sustainable growth of the SME sector in the state. In addition to the development of key infrastructure facilities in the state, the government introduced a package scheme of incentives in 1964 to promote the balanced industrial development in the state. This package scheme of incentives was amended at regular intervals to incorporate structural changes in the economy. The most recent Package Scheme of Incentives (PSI) was declared in 2007, which is being implemented for four financial years starting from April 1, 2007.Only micro and small enterprises, medium enterprises and large-scale companies from all sectors except the central public sector are eligible for getting incentives under PSI 2007. In order to implement the scheme effectively, tehsils in the state are classified into A, B, C, D, D+ and ‘no industry district’ according to their level of industrial development.

Some of this scheme’s measures are listed below:
• Promoting new SMEs/ expansion of existing units through ‘Industrial Promotion Subsidy’ for fixed capital investment
• Providing cushion to new SMEs in textile, hosiery, knitwear and readymade garment sector through interest subsidy for acquisition of fixed capital assets
• To reduce the burden of various taxes/duties on SMEs for their sustained growth exempt them from electricity duty, stamp duty, royalty refund (specifically for units in the Vidarbha region), refund octroi/ entry tax (in lieu of octroi)
• To attract large-scale investment by facilitating a conducive environment for industries; some of these benefits are extended to IT/ BT units and mega projects
• To increase the quality of production and efficiency of MSMEs, a subsidy is provided for (i) capital equipment for technology upgradation, (ii) quality certification, (iii) cleaner production measures, (iv) patent registration.
• Customised and special/extra incentives provided to prestigious mega projects

Besides these measures, the state government has taken various measures for rehabilitation of sick MSME units; for instance, it has issued certificates of sickness to 254 MSMEs that employed a total of 2,712 employees up to the end of November 2007, a step that enabled these units to obtain re-scheduling of outstanding dues of sales tax and electricity charges.

Key Highlights of the Assistance Provided in the Industrial Policy 2001:
• Exemption from electricity duty: the government announced an exemption for new manufacturing units established in C, D, and D+ areas and non-industry districts from payment of electricity duty for 15 years
• Incentives to SSI units: New SSI units set up in different parts of the state were made eligible for capital subsidy as follows:

The subsidy will be disbursed in equal annual installments over a period of 5 years. Existing SSIs are also eligible for 75% of the subsidy admissible as above for expansion, diversification or modernisation, involving additional investment to the extent of 25% or more.

• Interest subsidy to new textile, hosiery and knitwear SSI units: New textile, hosiery and knitwear SSI units set up in different parts of the state are eligible for interest subsidy on interest actually paid to the financial institution/bank on the term loan equal to the interest payable at 5% p.a. for creating fixed capital assets.

Financial Institutions
Apart from the government agencies, various nationalised banks and financial institutions too have played a major role in meeting the financing requirements of companies operating in the Pune cluster. These institutions provide financial assistance in the form of working capital loans, short-term loans and term loans to companies. Table 1.9 mentions a few prominent financial institutions present in Pune.