Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials here Wednesday to review the status of industrial investment and to discuss strategies on boosting investments in a fast-track mode.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Shaleen Kabra, Financial Commissioner Revenue; Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary, Forest Department; Santosh Dattatreya Vaidya, Principal Secretary, Finance Department;. H. Rajesh Prasad, Principal Secretary, Power Development Department; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to LG; Vikramjit Singh, Commissioner/Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department and senior officers attended the meeting.
The LG was briefed on investment in different sectors, status of land allotment, new industrial estates, recent steps taken by the department to fast-track grounding investment, policy initiatives, promoting start-ups among youth especially technology-based and scalable startups and achievements in exports of major products like carpets, papier mache, shawls, chain stitch, the press release said.
The LG directed for proactive steps to increase private industrial estates equipped with necessary infrastructure.
Emphasising that the women-led enterprises will shape the future of J&K, the LG said we must ensure their increasing presence in the economy and designate more exclusive industrial estates for women entrepreneurs like the one established in Udhampur to facilitate women-run businesses and startups.
The LG underscored that 2023 will be the year of “Agro-Industrial revolution” powered by the Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP) and increased production in agriculture and allied sectors that will offer vast opportunities to agro-industries.
He directed the officials that the potential of new cold storage, cold chains must be tapped to ensure rapid economic growth flows to rural areas of UT.
In order to scale up further infrastructure, the LG directed officials to push for greater private investment in inland ports, container depots, and food processing units.
Directions were also issued to develop a mechanism for regular meetings with representatives of old industrial estates to resolve their issues.
Highlighting that GI Tagging has offered enormous potential to transform the handicraft sector and to boost export, the LG said authenticity of products like Pashmina must be ensured for export.
The LG also directed the concerned officials to accelerate the development of basic amenities like connectivity, power and water facilities in the new Industrial estates.
The LG also called for replicating the best models of industrial estates developed in other parts of the country.
