Chhattisgarh redraws industrial growth map

CM Vishnu Deo Sai tells R Krishna Das how the state is looking beyond Raipur

- 

Chhattisgarh’s investment strategy is shifting towards more balanced, district-wide economic expansion.

For decades, industrial growth in many Indian states has followed a familiar arc: Capital cities and a handful of urban centres attracting the bulk of investment, while leaving most districts on the periphery of development. “Chhattisgarh’s current investment trajectory marks a decisive break from that model. What is unfolding today is not Raipur-centric growth, but a conscious shift toward balanced, district-wide economic expansion,” Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai told Business Standard.

Since November 2024, the state has issued 219 investment commitments valued at ₹7.83 trillion. The standout feature is not only the scale but also the dispersion. Projects span 26 of Chhattisgarh’s 33 districts, according to Sai. The geographic spread points to a structural shift in how the state is positioning itself — one where industrial opportunity is driven by land availability, labour pools, and local potential rather than administrative proximity, said the chief minister.

The distribution underscores that change. Around 33 per cent of commitments are concentrated in the Raipur division, while 46 per cent are spread across Bilaspur, Durg, and Surguja divisions. Nearly 21 per cent are flowing into the Bastar division, long viewed as peripheral to mainstream industrialisation.

“This signals growing investor confidence across a much wider geography of the state,” Sai said.