- Himachal government succeeds in signing MoUs worth Rs. 45,000 crore before Global Investor’s Meet: Jai Ram Thakur
The State Government has adopted a holistic approach for attracting investment so as to make Himachal Pradesh an investment hub of the country, stated Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over the Mini Conclave of Global Investor’s Meet, organised here today.
The Mini Conclave received a humongous response from the investors mainly in Tourism, Housing, Education, Food Processing, Health and IT sectors. As many as 93 MoU’s were signed during the conclave which would attract investment worth Rs. 4775 crore for the State which include 47 MoU’s related to tourism sector alone.
The Chief Minister said that this Mini Conclave at Shimla was being organized on an auspicious occasion of birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that it was one of the endeavours of Prime Minister to attract investment in the country as this would not only help in promoting economic activities but also providing adequate employment and self-employment opportunities to the youth of the country and the State. He said that till date MoUs worth Rs. 45,000 crore have been signed in different sectors in the State.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government has ensured that every decision of the government was aimed at welfare of the people and development of the State. He said that organizing Global Investor’s Meet in the State was a major step to attracting investment as all major states of the country were organizing such meets to woo investors. He said that many other States have also conducted international road shows in Germany, Netherlands and UAE and domestic road shows in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh in which Himachal Pradesh received positive response from business community.
The Chief Minister said that with pristine atmosphere, peaceful environment, cultural diversity and linguistic plurality, the State offers entrepreneurs a variety of choices for investment. The State Government was ensuring efficiency, transparency, timeliness and accountability to investors for giving approvals to the projects of entrepreneurs. He said that the Single Window Monitoring and Clearance Authority reflect strong commitment of the State Government in this direction.
He said that the new industrial policy announced by the State Government was a step forward to attract investment. The State has immense scope in power, Tourism, hospitality, food processing, renewable energy, IT, Education, manufacturing sector etc. He said that the State was known as Apple Bowl of the country, thus there was great scope in fruit processing and fruit based industries as well.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the Mini Conclave aims at listening the problems of entrepreneurs and businessman of our State and ensure their redressal so that they could leverage the maximum benefits of Global Investors Meet. He said that recently similar Mini Conclave was organised at Manali in which 93 MoUs attracting investments worth Rs. 2219 crore were inked.
He urged the local entrepreneurs to be part of the Global Investors Meet and thereby make their contribution in the development of the State.
Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that the Government was laying special stress on ease of doing business. He said that Himachal Pradesh was known as ‘Dev Bhoomi’ for its peaceful environment, thus making it a favourite destination for investment. He said that the State has several reputed educational institutions making it an ‘Education Hub’ of the country. He said that the State Government has announced several incentives to the potential entrepreneurs willing to invest in the State.
Urban Development Minister Sarveen Chaudhary said that the idea of Global Investor Meet was conceived and implemented in the State under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur which envisages to attract investment of over Rs. 85,000 crore in the State. She said that this the housing and urban development sector also have immense potential for investment.
Chief Secretary Dr. Shrikant Baldi made presentation on ‘Investment Opportunities in Tourism and Housing sector’. He said that the climatic conditions and salubrious settings of Himachal Pradesh make it a favourite destination for solace seekers and adventure lovers. He said that about two crore domestic tourists were visiting the State every year. He said that State offers immense scope in the tourism sector. He said that the State Cabinet has approved the Tourism Policy-2019 in order to facilitate the investors willing to invest in the tourism sector.
Principal Secretary, IT J.C. Sharma made a presentation on ‘Investment Opportunities in IT and Electronic Sector’. He said that IT sector has a share of eight per cent in country’s GDP and the State has immense opportunities for investment in IT sector. He also detailed additional fiscal incentives being provided to the entrepreneurs interested to invest in IT sector.
Principal Secretary, Education K.K. Pant made a detailed presentation.
Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjay Kundu thanked the entrepreneurs for making the Mini Conclave a grand success and on the behalf of the State Government invited them to Global Investor’s Meet being held at Dharamshala.
Director, Industries Hans Raj Sharma spoke about various initiatives taken by the State Government to ease the process for getting various clearances and highlighted the multiple reasons for investment in industrial sector.
Chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh Harish Agarwal also highlighted the uniqueness of the State making it as a best destination for investment. He also assured all help from the CII for organizing Global Investors Meet being the National Partner of the Meet.
Short films on investment opportunities in various sectors were also screened on the occasion.
Additional Chief Secretary Industries Manoj Kumar, Principal Secretary Onkar Sharma, Secretary Amitabh Awasthi, Special Secretary Industries Abid Hussain, Director Tourism Yunus, Director IT Rohan Chand Thakur, MD HPSEBL J.P. Kalta, PCCF Ajay Kumar, entrepreneurs from within and outside the State were present of the occasion among others.
