Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing US-India Business Council (USIBC) through video conferencing from here today said that the salubrious climatic conditions, pollution-free environment and abundant and uninterrupted electricity supply make Himachal Pradesh a favourite destination for investment even for world’s most renowned companies.Jai Ram Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh government organized Global Investor's Meet at Dharamshala which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The industry leaders from world over participated in this Meet and evinced keen interest in investing in Himachal Pradesh. He said that MoUs worth rupees one lakh crore were signed in this Meet and ground breaking ceremony of projects worth Rs. 13000 crore was performed within three months of the Meet.He said that the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected the endeavour of the state. However, during this crisis, the Pharma industry of the state not only produced Hydroxychloroquine medicine to meet the demand of the nation and it was also exported to the several other countries such as USA etc. He said that the government was providing several incentives to the potential entrepreneurs as state offers vast potential in food processing and manufacturing sectors.
The Chief Minister appreciated the role USIBC has played in these unprecedented times to bring back focus on states through timely interventions, discussing investment plans of US companies and addressing business community has proved extremely beneficial.Managing Director, U.S-India Business Council Ambika Sharma said that the Council was delighted to join hands with the government of Himachal Pradesh on strategizing on investment promotion and business growth focussing on certain sectors such as FMCG, technology, agriculture, energy, healthcare sectors. The association with Himachal Pradesh has been a long-standing one and we look forward to working with the state government, she added.Members of the US India Business Council (USIBC) also shared their views and highlighted their various issues before the Chief Minister.The representative of Intel Nivruti Rai said that due to the salubrious climatic conditions, the State could emerge as a hub for setting up of data centres and tele-medicines. Representative of Baxter Ravinder Pal Singh Dang, representative of Walmart and representative of Johnson and Johnson Rakesh also spoke on the occasion.Industries Minister Bikram Singh, Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Additional Chief Secretary Industries Ram Subhag Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister J.C. Sharma, Secretary Horticulture Amitabh Awasthi, Director Industries Hansraj Sharma, Special Secretary Industries Abid Hussain Sadiq and other officers were present on the occasion.