"The government is making a last-ditch attempt to woo private sector investments which had suffered in a big way with the deterioration of law-and-order situation and poor development in basic infrastructure," said government sources. A separate infrastructure development corporation will be created to monitor and financially participate in ventures by picking up equity stake in the projects. The move, which comes in the wake of the recent announcement by chief minister Kalyan Singh, aims at creating a special and a highly-prioritised `Japanese industrial belt' for wooing multinationals.

A special incentive package is also on the cards for investments in the `Buddhist circuit' by Japanese companies. The industrial belt aims at roping ininvestments in the area of automobiles and auto-ancillaries. It has been pointed out by representatives of leading MNCs that with the current status of infrastructure in the state, expectations of investments from MNCs, particularly those in Japan, will be difficult to come by.

The exact modalities of putting up the Rs 100 crore fund is being worked by the state, sources said. The government is also in the process of floating a separate infrastructure development corporation, which will be an independent body working in cooperation with the industrial development cell.