Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Srinagar August 12 : Jammu and Kashmir administration expects that proposals worth Rs 50,000 crore for investment would be cleared by the end of current financial year for which thousands of kanals of land have been identified.
“We have already received proposals for Rs 24,000 crore from investors for investing in Jammu and Kashmir. By the end of March, 2022, we expect to clear Rs 50,000 crore proposals of investors for which thousands of kanals of land have been identified,” Principal Secretary Industry and Commerce Department J&K Ranjan Prakash Thakur told news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).
“This much of investment has come no where in the country in a year. The reason is a centrally sponsored scheme under which incentives are given to investors. The other reason is that there is now a transparent system in place. You need to apply online for setting up an industry or require any land. You don’t need to come to the office for any formalities,” he said.
In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ambitious central scheme to boost block-level industrial development of J&K.
The Principal Secretary said since the announcement of the new industrial policy (which incentivizes investment in J&K), there has been a considerable interest in the corporate sector to come to the region.
Once these industries are set up, they will create huge employment opportunities here, he said.
The new industrial policy of Jammu and Kashmir was announced earlier this year by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. It is aimed at making J&K a business hub, carrying out social and economic development, and generating employment.
The UT administration is offering various perks to investors, such as cheaper interest rates on loans and relaxation in taxes.
Investors want to invest in sectors including education, health, agriculture, tourism, IT, handicrafts, food processing units, pharmaceuticals, skill development, milk, poultry and wool, infrastructure and real estate, renewable energy, and others.
Some of the major companies which recently showed interest to invest including Jindal Steels, Atmiya Fieldcon Pvt for setting up a hospital, HP Kapital for setting up a health care centre in J&K, R K Associate Hoteliers for establishing hotels, National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India for high density plantation and cold storage clusters, J&K include Flipkart for showcasing and facilitating the local artisans and craftsmen to reach customers, an Abu Dhabi based company Lulu for food processing units, Reliance Ammunition Ltd, Jackson Group, Indo American Synergy, Krishna Hydro Projects Pvt Ltd, Universal Success Enterprises, Singapore, Indian School of Business, Bestech India Private Limited, LM Energy and Software Pvt Ltd, Intellizone Publishers Pvt Ltd, Servotel and Shree Cement Ltd. (KINS)
