Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda sees his state as the most desirable destination in India for private sector investment.

“I extend an invitation to you all to visit Haryana to have first-hand information about the level and standard of infrastructure and the atmosphere which is extremely conducive for sustainable growth of trade and industry,” he told his listeners during an Oct. 12 reception in his honor hosted by Purneet “Dr. Fresh” Nanda at the Sheraton Cerritos hotel here.

One of the most ambitious NRI projects to date is the Nanocity being built by Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail.com, who aims to replicate the vibrance and eco-system of innovation found in the Silicon Valley.

“As far as the government of Haryana is concerned, he’s acquiring land and things are in progress,” Hooda assured, adding that to date, “there are 87 [NRI] applications, out of which 57 have already gotten approval from the government of India. So there are many NRIs coming.”

“What we see today is the tip of the iceberg,” Nanda, who is said to operate one of the fastest growing companies in this country, stated earlier when it came his turn to speak. “This is the right time to invest in India to make sure the growth momentum is sustained.”

Even Nanda himself, as Hooda pointed out in his speech, is currently in the process of setting up an IT Special Economic Zone center on 75 acres of land in Gurgaon through an investment of $300 million, “and has the potential of 50,000 jobs.”