by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Emerging Businesses, Employment, Investing
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh on Monday signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 159 companies that will attract an investment of over Rs 17,000 crore and provide employment opportunities to 40,000 people, the government said.
It said three MoUs were signed with PSUs (public sector undertakings) for an investment of Rs 1,115 crore; 88 for the Department of Industries for Rs 5,243 crore; 36 for the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation for Rs 2,810 crore; 17 for the Department of Urban Development for Rs 4,332 crore; and five for the Department of Transport for an investment of Rs 2,780 crore, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the state was coming up with new policies for industry, tourism, warehouse and logistics, information technology, e-vehicles, films and Ayush to provide more attractive incentives to the entrepreneurs.
Presiding over the MoU signing ceremony here under the Himachal Pradesh Global Investors Meet, he said efforts would be made to ensure online clearances under Section 118 to ensure fast clearances of the projects.
Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act of 1972 makes permission mandatory for non-agriculturists in the state to buy property other than what is offered by the state housing board.
Thakur said a holistic approach had been adopted by the government to attract investments.
He said the state offers great scope for investment in sectors like tourism, education, healthcare and food processing.
The Chief Minister said the new industrial policy aims to establish state-of-the-art infrastructure, promote the manufacturing sector, enhance inclusivity, foster innovation and create employment opportunities across the sectors.
He said the entrepreneurs willing to set up new industry or undertaking expansion would be entitled to 30 per cent Capital Investment Subsidy subject to a maximum of Rs 5 crore on plant and machinery under the Industrial Development Scheme of the Government of India.
He said the state government would be holding the Global Investors Meet in June in Dharamsala.
Industries Minister Bikram Singh Thakur said the state was committed to make sustainable tourism one of the prime engines of growth by establishing it as a leading global sustainable tourism destination.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday informed a central team that the state has suffered a loss of Rs 1,600 crore this year due to unprecedented rain and untimely snowfall, which also claimed 343 lives.
At a meeting with the inter-ministerial central team in Mandi, he said the Public Works Department had suffered a major loss.
The damage to roads and bridges has been estimated at Rs 930 crore.
Thakur said 405 incidents of landslides and 34 cloudbursts have been reported in the state.
The Irrigation and Public Health Department suffered a loss of Rs 430 crore, while the loss to the agricultural crops was estimated at Rs 130.37 crore.
The Chief Minister said 343 persons lost their lives due to flashfloods, landslides, cloudbursts and weather-related road accidents.
He said 4,033 stranded persons were rescued from Chamba, Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts between September 3 and October 1.
The Chief Minister urged the inter-ministerial central team to recommend the maximum financial support from the Union government in view of the extent of losses.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Emerging Businesses
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh is promoting the cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants by encouraging farmers to cultivate them, the government said on Sunday.
Under the National AYUSH Mission, the government is providing financial assistance for which farmer clusters have been set up. To get the benefit of the financial assistance, each cluster must have at least two hectares of land.
A cluster can be of three adjoining villages of 15 km radius. Mortgaged land can also be used for cultivation of the medicinal plants, a government spokesperson told IANS.
The National AYUSH Mission is providing financial assistance of Rs 100 lakh for the cultivation of ‘atis’, ‘kuth’, ‘kutki’, ‘sugandhvala’, ‘ashwagandha’, ‘sarpgandha’ and ‘tulsi’, besides Rs 40 lakh for the construction of two storage warehouses and two drying sheds.
State Ayurveda Director Sanjeev Bhatnagar said Rs 75.54 lakh has been sanctioned by the Ayush Mission in 2017-18 for the medicinal plants in the state.
He said the National Medicinal Plants Board has approved the establishment of a regional-cum-facilitation centre in Mandi district’s Jogindernagar.
The Centre will promote the cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants in five states and one Union Territory — Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
Himachal Pradesh has unique geographical conditions and there are areas ranging from 200 to 7,000 metres high.
Due to diverse climatic conditions in the area, numerous types of herbaceous plants are available here.
Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Sirmaur, Kangra, Solan and Mandi districts fall under the sub-tropical Shivalik hills and about 160 species of medicinal plants are cultivated in this zone.
Tribal districts like Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, some areas of Kangra and Shimla districts located at an altitude of over 2,500 meters produce useful medicinal plants.
These plants include ‘patis’, ‘batsnabh’, ‘atis’, ‘tragen’, ‘kirmala’, ‘ratanjot’, ‘kala jeera’, ‘kesar’, ‘somlata’, ‘jangli heeng’ and ‘khursani ajwain’.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Jai Ram Thakur
By Vishal Gulati,
Shimla : First-time Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has made strengthening the mountain state’s weak infrastructure — road, rail and air — a priority as this would not only boost national security but also increase tourist flows. Himachal Pradesh shares a 260 km border with China.
Five-time legislator Thakur, who rose through the ranks, said he has apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the importance of laying the Pathankot-Leh rail line that will ensure round-the-year movement of troops to forward areas where China has already strengthened its road and rail networks on its side.
Thankur, who assumed office on December 27, 2017, talked about the completion of the tunnel beneath the majestic Rohtang Pass, one of the country’s strategically most important infrastructure projects, within a year. The 8.8-km, horseshoe-shaped tunnel is an engineering marvel whose excavation was completed last October.
“I met the Defence Minister in this regard soon after assuming office. Issues relating to expediting its work were discussed. She assured that they will try to get it constructed within a year,” Thakur told IANS in an interview.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a wing of the Defence Ministry is constructing the tunnel. It was earlier scheduled to be opened for traffic by 2015.
Once ready, the Rohtang tunnel will be a boon for the cold deserts of Lahaul Valley, where over 20,000 people remain cut off from the rest of India in winter owing to the closure of the Rohtang Pass, a major attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists and located 52 km from Manali.
Besides reducing road distance by approximately 46 km and saving travel time of about four hours, the tunnel will open up new vistas of trade and tourism and generate jobs for the locals.
On another important infrastructure project, Thakur said: “Seeing the sensitivity along the (Pakistan) border, the Centre is keen to set up another bigger airbase at a strategic location close to the existing one in Pathankot.”
He said expansion of the existing airport at Gaggal near Kangra town, some 225 km from the state capital, could be an alternative to the Pathankot airbase in Punjab, which was attacked by Pakistani terrorists in 2016.
“Kangra airport would also be used for defence purposes — for landing fighter and big aircraft. Moreover, this is at a safe distance from the border and strategically important in view of the increasing tension with the neighbouring countries.”
Thakur, who has discussed this with Sitharaman, said a central government team visited the Gaggal airport a few days ago to study the feasibility of its expansion.
“The airport expansion means acquisition of over 570 acres land and we will provide this. If the central government gives its nod, it will boost our tourism industry too.”
The state’s youngest Chief Minister said popular tourist resorts Shimla, Manali, Narkanda, Kasauli, Kalpa and Dharamsala are chock-a-block with the tourists.
“Our focus is now on developing virgin destinations for which there is a budgetary provision of Rs 50 crore for the first time in the state’s history.”
On mining, he said his government has the Himachal Pradesh Minor Minerals (Concession) and Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2015, with an aim to simplify procedural requirements and punish offenders.
While there is a provision of two years of jail for illegal mining, the fine has been enhanced 20 times — from Rs 25,000 to Rs 500,000.
In fact, illegal mining is even being cited as one of the reasons for the Beas river tragedy in which 24 students of a Hyderabad engineering college lost lives in 2014.
On the economic front, this tiny hill state is facing one of its worst financial crises, with loan liability at Rs 46,502 crore.
“The situation is such that the state can’t manage affairs without loans. We will try to limit it by taking continuous measures, including austerity. At the same time we will see that development is not affected,” he said.
“Our focus is to strengthen our major income-generation sources like opting for scientific mining, rationalising hydropower generation, tapping tourism in unexplored areas and promoting horticulture.”
“We are going to offer some concessions and incentives to independent power producers to attract investments. Likewise, we are roping in private investments in tourism,” Thakur said.
Hydropower generation as well as horticulture and tourism are major contributors to the economy of Himachal Pradesh.
Not believing in having disputes with neighbours, he added: “We will try to resolve all our issues — (we are) seeking the release of 7.19 per cent share of the state, which runs into crores of rupees, on account of BBMB projects, along with arrears, from Punjab and Haryana without getting into any sort of confrontation.”
In 2011, the Supreme Court upheld Himachal’s claim in three Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) hydro projects and directed compensation for denial of the state’s legitimate share from November 1, 1966, but the state has not got its due so far.
(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodity Market, Corporate, Corporate finance, Economy, Finance, Investing, Markets, News
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh, country’s off-season cash crops bowl, has sought additional funds of Rs 1,000 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for extending a crop diversification project, an official said on Friday.
The state is aiming to expand the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion Project in all 12 districts of the state.
The demand to extend the project was raised this week by Additional Chief Secretary Shrikant Baldi at a meeting here with JICA-India Principal Development Specialist Subroto Takuldar.
The latter was here along a delegation of 13 Afghan officers.
JICA has been providing an assistance of Rs 321 crore to the state under the crop diversification project since 2011 for enhancing the socio-economic conditions of farmers in Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Una districts.
Baldi said in the ongoing project emphasis was on to strengthen micro-irrigation, solar water lifting, construction of farm access roads, collection centres and creation of irrigation potential in 4,600 hectares.
The farmers, who formed groups under the name Krishak Vikas Association, are operating and maintaining the irrigation system themselves, a government spokesperson told IANS.
The ownership of the irrigation systems have been completely transferred to them.
The Afghan officers, who were on a four-day tour of the state from February 24, were taken to the fields to showcase irrigation and post-harvest technologies.
—IANS
