CM invites entrepreneurs to invest in Himachal
Himachal Pradesh offers immense potential for investment in sectors like tourism, industries, information technology, service sector, food processing, pharma and power etc and the State Government was providing all possible help to facilitate the entrepreneurs for setting up their units in the State. This was stated by the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing the ‘Road show’ organized by the State Government in cooperation with the Consulate General of India Frankfurt and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Frankfurt in Germany yesterday evening.
Chief Minister said that the State has a vibrant talent pool and educational ecosystem due to presence of premier institutes of national repute. With a host of universities, engineering, management and medical colleges, the state ensures a steady supply of skilled human capital for the industries, he said adding that the State was ranked top amongst Fast Movers Category in Ease of Doing Reforms and the Single Window Acts in Himachal Pradesh reflects the strong commitment of the State Government to ensure efficiency, transparency, time bound and accountability in providing services to investors.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State offers investors a variety of choices in tourism sector like adventure, wildlife, eco-tourism, heritage, spiritual, monuments, religious, skiing etc. He said that the State Government was committed to make sustainable tourism as one of the prime engines of growth in the state by establishing it as a leading global sustainable tourism destination. He said that with 300 pharma companies and over 700 Pharma formulation manufacturing units functioning in Himachal Pradesh and the State was known as Pharmaceutical hub of Asia. In addition, the State is major producer of fruits like apple, plums, apricots, kiwis, walnuts and pears. The state offers abundant opportunity for food processing and allied industries, he added.
Chief Minister said that the State offers attractive incentives under the Industrial Policy to boost investment in the State and the Government has recently amended the policy to make it more attractive and industry friendly. “We are also coming up with investor friendly policies in sectors such as Tourism, AYUSH, IT & Electronics and Hydro Energy”, he added.
While inviting the potential entrepreneurs to be part of the Global Investors Meet in 2019 being organized at Dharamshala by the State Government, Chief Minister said that the Global Investors’ Meet would focus on a wide range of upcoming and thriving sectors like Tourism, AYUSH and Wellness, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Real Estate, Hydro Power, Agro and Food Processing.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government was organizing the Road Show in Germany because “Made in Germany” was a trademark of quality recognized around the world and the State Government was keen to replicate the same in the state. He said that the German companies were considered as master of planning, therefore, the State was willing to implement the same culture by having collaboration with more German companies. He said that India has more than 1600 Indo-German collaborations and over 600 Joint ventures operating in India. “I personally feel that Tourism, AYUSH, Pharmaceutical, Agri & Food Processing, Industries, Real Estate and Automobiles could be the key areas of investments in the State”, he added.
Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh has presence of Germany in many sectors. He said that Climate Proofing Project (KFW) was started to enhance the adaptive capacities of local communities with an outlay of 37.61 Million EURO. Whereas, Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystem services – HP-FES Project” was signed in 2016, between GIZ and Himachal Pradesh Government to institutionalize the ecosystem services. In addition to this, several German Companies such as New Tech Filters, BASF, Edelman Henkel, Aristo Pharma and Federal Mogul were active in the State, he added.
Earlier, the delegation from Himachal Pradesh held meeting with President and Members of German-Indian Round Table and discussed investment opportunities in Himachal Pradesh.
Industries Minister Bikram Singh greeted the delegation for the roadshow in Frankfurt, Europe’s industrial powerhouse and world’s second largest exporter. He shared with august gathering the Himachal Pradesh’s strengths, meticulously framed policies, suitable opportunities and State’s readiness to attract and encourage investment. He highlighted that the state has made a commendable step in establishing a manufacturing economy with over 50,000 manufacturing Units including global players like Unilever India, P&G, Dabur, Nestle, Cremica, Colgate, Philips, Godrej, Havells, Abbott and Reliance, actively operating in the State providing employment to over 4 lakh persons
He formally invited and warmly welcomed the German investors to take full advantage of the immense magnitude of investment opportunities Himachal Pradesh offers and participate in the maiden Global Investor Meet to be held at Dharamshala.
Additional Chief Secretary cum Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Dr. Shrikant Baldi highlighted the opportunities in the field of Tourism like Adventure Activities, Trekking & Camping, Wildlife, Unexplored Cold Desert, History, Architecture, Spirituality and Harmony. He further explained about the individual potential investible projects in details like Five Star Resorts, Ski Resorts, Eco Tourism, Convention Centre, Hot Water Wellness Resort, Sky Bridge, Lake Tourism, Destination Development, Ropeways, Civil Aviation, Tea Tourism and Tented Accommodation.
Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Manoj Kumar made a concise presentation highlighting the facts why India was considered the economic bright spot in global economy and how Himachal Pradesh was an ideal 'Haven for Investors'. He gave a succinct brief on the 8 focus sectors in Himachal Pradesh. He highlighted the State readiness for investment in terms of 'Ease of Doing Business' and also shared key Incentives of Industrial Investment Policy - 2019.
MD International Business Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce Grulswort Ratzinger said that Frankfurt was the home of manufacturing sector, including the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, automotive, electrical, mechanical, measurement and control engineering. He also highlighted the region is Europe’s leading centre for ICT and world’s leading internet exchange point DE-CIX. He said that the Frankfurt was also the centre of Indian business community in Germany. The CCI alone counts 260 Indian member companies, among them the largest India banks as well as top India IT companies. He shared that Germany is India’s most important trading partner in Europe and among the Top-10 trading partners worldwide.
Pratibha Parkar Consulate General greeted the delegation for the roadshow in Frankfurt, the financial capital of Germany. She highlighted the vision of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi regarding “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas” and added that it was not merely for India but also applicable for India’s external relations with other countries.
Director Industries Hans Raj Sharma, Special Secretary Industries Abid Hussain Sadiq, Principal Private Secretary to the Chief Minister Vinay Singh, representative of India Travels George John, Vice President TVG Mohan Jonnalagadda, representative of MEFT Consultation Services David Gower, METRO AG representative Mark Alexanxder Friedrich, Nestle representative Varghese Mathew, Blocher and Partner representative Angela Kreutz and over 80 entrepreneurs and leaders from Federal Republic of Germany Business community were present on the occasion.