J&K aims to attract Rs20,000 cr investments in 10 years

Jammu & Kashmir's minister for industries and commerce Chander Parkash Ganga said that with a slew of industry-friendly measures, the state government aims to attract investment of Rs20,000 crore over the next 10 years.

Winding up a discussion on demand of grants for the industries and commerce department, the minister said that the government is focused on development of this vital sector. He further added that as per the latest economic survey by the government, it contributes 25.87 per cent to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and various steps are being taken to strengthen the sector for socio-economic transformation of the state.

The minister said that the micro and small industrial enterprises have been the main focus of the government, adding that there are 30,257 registered MSME units employing about 1.45 lakh persons in the state.

Highlighting the provisions of New Industrial Policy 2016, the minister said the policy envisions ease of doing business by simplifying the process of obtaining clearances, no objection certificates including self-certification of documents, and others.

Speaking on the handloom sector, Ganga acknowledged the challenges being faced from power looms and modernisation in addition to lack of capital and investment. He said the government aims to promote the sector through integrated handicraft development, handloom weaver comprehensive welfare and modernization schemes besides renovation of looms and loan assistance to cooperative societies.

The minister underscored the importance of labour-extensive sectors of handicraft and handloom in mitigating the challenges of unemployment. He said that the handloom units produce Loi, Pattu blankets, Pashmina, Ruffle and Dasoi Khat.

He said that the Department has taken 15 handloom clusters and 20 group approach projects on a project cost of Rs. 12.23 crore under the Integrated Handloom Department Scheme (IHDS).