The Government of Maharashtra has officially restructured its Directorate of Industries into three distinct, specialised commissionerates, effective immediately, as part of a sweeping administrative overhaul aligned with the state's Viksit Maharashtra 2047 vision. The Government Resolution (GR) was issued on Monday, 27 July by Principal Secretary (Industries Department) P Anbalagan, following State Cabinet approval.

The Three New Commissionerates

The erstwhile Directorate of Industries has been reorganised into three specialised bodies. The Commissionerate of Industries retains overall administrative control and oversees large, mega, and ultra-mega industrial projects. The Commissionerate of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is dedicated to scheme implementation and administration for MSMEs; its Commissioner will also serve as ex-officio Managing Director of the Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC). The Commissionerate of Services will function as a strategic nodal body guiding service-sector industries and emerging technologies.

Key Structural Changes

Specialised cells — including the MAITRI Cell and Invest Maharashtra — will operate under the administrative control of the Commissioner of Industries. The headquarters of the newly formed MSME Commissionerate, Services Commissionerate, and Invest Maharashtra will all be based in Mumbai. The Industries Department has sought 30,000 sq ft of space in the Air India building, recently acquired by the state government.

Separately, the Sub-Divisional Office at Nanded has been closed, with its jurisdiction transferred to the Regional Office at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Staffing and Financial Implications

A revised staffing framework sanctioning 1,373 total positions — comprising 1,084 regular posts and 289 outsourced posts — has been approved across all offices. The restructuring carries an estimated additional annual financial burden of ₹35.96 crore. Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre positions have been created for the roles of Service Commissioner and Executive Director (Invest Maharashtra). A dedicated technical cell comprising one Chief Technical Officer and nine Technical Assistants (via outsourcing) has also been constituted under the Commissioner of Industries.

The Larger Economic Ambition

The restructuring is anchored to Maharashtra's twin economic targets: becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2029-30 and a five-trillion-dollar economy by 2047 under the Vision Maharashtra 2047 mission. By creating dedicated commissionerates for MSMEs and services — two of the state's fastest-growing segments — the government is signalling a shift from a single-window industrial administration to a sector-specific governance model. Notably, this is among the most significant reorganisations of the Industries Department in recent years, and its success will depend heavily on inter-commissionerate coordination and filling the newly sanctioned posts without bureaucratic delay.