Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today asserted that promotion and development of local industry is the thrust area of her Government. She said during the last two years many incentives were provided by the Government to make the local industry self reliant and competitive.Chairing the 6th Industrial Advisory Council meeting here, the Chief Minister said the Government during the last two years incentivised many of the industry segments and much more would be done in coming years also to let the local industry grow and become competitive and self reliant.Minister for Finance & Labour, Dr. Haseeb A. Drabu; Minister for Industries & Commerce, Chander Prakash Ganga; Minister of State for Industries & Commerce, Syed Farooq Andrabi were present in the meeting.Mehbooba Mufti, however, impressed upon the players of local industry to ensure maximum engagement of local youth in their ventures so as to address the problem of unemployment in the State. She said already the Industrial Policy has been formulated and very soon the Trade Policy of the State would also be framed.
The Chief Minister said the J&K Trade Promotion Organisation has been conceived on the pattern of India Trade Promotion Organisation to boost trade and commerce in the State and provide a business friendly environment to industrialists in the State. She hoped the members of the business fraternity in the State would take benefit of all the incentives provided to them and play their role in the socio economic transformation of the State.The meeting was informed that under the MSME sector while an investment of Rs. 250 crore per year was made during earlier years, investment projects worth Rs. 2500 crore were cleared during 2016 alone. The meeting was also informed that Wuyn cement factory plant spread over 400 kanals of land would be developed as an Industrial Estate even as two new Industrial Estates would be developed in the State.
The meeting was also told that Rs. 10 crore each are being spent on upgradation of infrastructure at Trade Facilitation Centres, Salamabad and Chakkan da Bagh where the trade valuation has touched Rs. 900 crore and Rs. 450 crore each. Similarly, Kashmir Haat-II would be developed opposite EDI at Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway over a cost of Rs. 40 crore while as 45000 youth in the State have been targeted to be made skilful in the coming three years, the meeting was told.Financial Commissioner, Agriculture, Pramod Jain; Financial Commissioner, Planning & Development & Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas; Principal Secretary, Home, R. K. Goyal; Commissioner-Secretary, PDD, Dheeraj Gupta; Commissioner-Secretary, Industries, Shailendra Kumar; Commissioner-Secretary, Finance, Navin Kumar Choudhary; Commissioner-Secretary, Forests, Muhammad Afzal Bhat; Commissioner-Secretary, Revenue, Mohammad Ashraf Mir and other senior officers besides representatives of trade and industry were present in the meeting.