The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the Indian state of Maharashtra on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Swedish furniture retailing giant, IKEA, to set up two to three stores. Maharashtra is one of four states, including Telangana, Karnataka and Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), identified by IKEA to open its stores. One store will need more than eight acres (350,000 square feet). The company is on the lookout for locations in these states.

State Industries Minister Subash Desai told the Business Standard: ”Each store IKEA proposes to start in Maharashtra entails an investment of INR600 crore (INR6 billion, USD95.7 million). Each store will generate jobs for more than 1,000 people. Maharashtra is one of few states in India supportive of foreign direct investment in single-brand retailing.”