The Jammu and Kashmir government is expecting investment worth around Rs 70 thousand crore in the next six months from foreign investors.
Ahigh-level delegation of businessmen from Gulf countries landed in Srinagar on Sunday evening. During the visit of the Gulf CEOs, Principal Secretary (Industries and Commerce) of Jammu and Kashmir government, Ranjan Prakash Thakur, told News18 that L-G Manoj Sinha was in Dubai in January where he addressed the Major Global Investment Summit.
“A personal invite was extended to the business community to come and visit Jammu and Kashmir. A lot of people have a misconception of Jammu and Kashmir, which is unfortunate. In the past, there has been some difficulty. Post August 5 2019, the world is a different place and J&K has moved on in a very different direction,” Thakur said.
“We need to showcase the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, we need to showcase how we have moved on and what we are today,” he added.
The CEOs of 30-plus companies, including Indian businessmen, will be in the Valley for the next four days, during which they will be looking at business opportunities in the Union territory.
As part of the four-day programme, Sinha, along with the principal secretary of industries and commerce and other government officials, will showcase investment opportunities, with focus on entrepreneurship, tourism and hospitality sector.
This visit, Thakur pointed out, makes a difference because “the comfort level will go up substantially, not just for Indians but also for international investors. They are here personally looking at entire UT, and then committing to Investments in several sectors.”
He said that today the international investors have the confidence to come in and to see for themselves before making major decisions. “The entire investment in the first 75 years since independence has been less than 15,000 crore, in the last one year, we have firm commitments of more than 50,000 crore.”
“The fact that they (investors) are feeling comfortable and travelling in Jammu and Kashmir and investing in the UT in itself is a big statement to the international community. Of course, many more would follow. The GCC is the first effort and this will lead to further European, American and Japanese Investments,” Thakur said.
He highlighted that after the J&K’s transition into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019, when the Centre ended J&K’s special constitutional position, it has become a ‘very different place’. “The commitment to maintain security and safety of all citizens and all investments is of the Government of India and the J&K government. So far, we have done well and we shall continue to do so.”
In the light of J&K’s significance as a major tourism hub, the delegation will also visit various tourist destinations, including Gulmarg and Pahalgam, to explore investment opportunities. Sinha will also host a dinner for the business delegation.
“They are going around the entire UT looking at different locations. Hotels, hospitals and medical colleges are the first priority and then will follow into IT and other sectors. IT sectors are very job-oriented part, it’s not just money flowing in from the GCC countries but also the fact that it will create huge job opportunities for youth of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
A senior J&K official said that the programme is in line with the initiatives taken by the government towards creating favourable infrastructure for export promotion and an entrepreneur-friendly environment. There will be pitch presentations of several exporters, start-ups and women entrepreneurs, along with an overview of the cottage and silk industries, product displays and artisan meets.
The local business community of Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed the step and said it will be a start of a new era of the economic development of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has a lot of potential and if they get a platform the scenario of UT will be changed.
‘’For sure we will get a lot of benefits. This is a great platform to showcase our products at international levels. The Kashmiri youth require jobs. We generally have to go out of Kashmir to find jobs in companies and if we get opportunities here, it would be great.” a local entrepreneur said.
Another entrepreneur who deals with the carpet industry said, “our main market is the Middle East, if markets of UAE get open for us it will be a big opportunity for development.”
In February, the UAE and India signed a free trade agreement that cuts duties on almost 90 percent of goods traded between them, including metals, minerals, petrochemicals, and petroleum.
