Adani Group's Repeated Investment Promises in Madhya Pradesh: Reality or Illusion?

Bhopal: To boost investment in Madhya Pradesh, investor summits are frequently organized. This time, at the 2025 Global Investors Summit (GIS), industrialist Gautam Adani announced a multi-sectoral investment of over ₹1.10 lakh crore in the state.

This investment will be directed towards pumped storage, cement, mining, smart meters, and thermal energy sectors. The Adani Group claims that this investment will generate over 1.2 lakh employment opportunities by 2030.

However, this is not the first time the Adani Group has made such grand investment promises in Madhya Pradesh. Similar announcements were made during the last three investor summits, but many of these projects never materialized on the ground.

The question now is whether this investment will actually come to fruition or remain confined to paper announcements. Is Gautam Adani merely ensnaring the Madhya Pradesh government and its people with hollow assurances?

What Happened to the Old Promises?

During the last three investor summits, the Adani Group made several significant promises:

January 2023 – Global Investor Summit, Indore

• Pranav Adani announced an investment of ₹80,000 crore.

• It was claimed that this investment would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

• The sectors listed were nearly the same—power generation, transmission, oil processing, gas, cement, roads, defense, etc.

• However, no concrete reports emerged on the ground reality of these investments and new projects.

March 2024 – Invest Madhya Pradesh: Regional Industry Conference, Ujjain

• The Adani Group announced an investment of ₹75,000 crore.

• Promised ₹5,000 crore for the Ujjain-Indore-Bhopal Mahakal Expressway.

• Additionally, investments in food processing, logistics, thermal power, renewable energy, and coal mining were discussed.

• Yet, it remains unclear how many new projects were initiated from this investment.

February 2025 – Global Investors Summit, Bhopal

• Adani once again announced a new investment of ₹1.10 lakh crore.

• Discussions included a greenfield smart city, a new airport project, and coal gasification projects.

• Claimed to create 1.2 lakh jobs.

• Many old projects are being reiterated in these announcements, but no new large-scale projects seem to be taking off.

How Much Investment is Actually Happening?

Looking at the current scenario, the Adani Group’s total investment in Madhya Pradesh is said to be around ₹75,000 crore. This investment is primarily in road construction, cement production, natural resources, thermal power, renewable energy, and power transmission sectors.

Major Operational Projects:

• Expansion of the Mahan Energen Plant in Singrauli – from 1,200 MW to 4,400 MW.

• Pumped storage projects – 3,410 MW capacity.

• 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) clinker unit in Chorgadi.

• Two cement grinding units in Bhopal and Dewas – total capacity of 8 MTPA.

• Gas distribution, LNG, EV charging stations, and bio-gas projects in cities – ₹2,100 crore.

• Operation of APMDC’s Suliyari coal mine and acquisition of five other coal mines.

Most of these projects were already operational. The practical implementation of new projects or the announced investments remains unclear.

Are Adani’s Promises Just an ‘Investment Show’?

Every time the Adani Group announces a massive investment in Madhya Pradesh, the ground reality appears quite different.

• After announcing an investment of ₹80,000 crore in 2023, another ₹1.10 lakh crore investment claim has been made in 2025. But what happened to the old investments?

• No official data has been provided by the government on how many new projects have been initiated.

• Employment generation is promised, but actual figures are often avoided.

• The Adani Group is repackaging already operational projects to create an image of new investments.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s government seems quite enthusiastic about the investor summit, but the question arises: Will the government hold the Adani Group accountable for its past promises? Will it ask Adani about the status of the promises made in the last three summits? Why aren’t new projects being implemented? What is the truth behind the employment generation claims?