NITI Aayog report sets target of doubling Mumbai's GDP in five years

A report prepared by the NITI Aayog on the development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) aims to double the region's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next five years, and make Mumbai and its satellite towns a global economic hub. At present the region's GDP is Rs 12 lakh crore (USD 140 billion) and it should reach Rs 26 lakh crore (USD 300 billion) by 2030, the report submitted to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde by NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said. While there are one crore employment opportunities in the MMR at present, there is a need to create 30 lakh more opportunities, the report said. Chief minister Shinde said infrastructure and communication facilities are the foundation for the state's development, and work was underway in that direction. The report said the Maharashtra government needed to focus on seven sectors: Developing Mumbai into a global services hub, facilitating affordable housing, transforming MMR into global tourism centre, integrated development of .