Allot 10K crore for five years as an annual package to boost J&K economy

31 January, 2013

Considering that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has not been able to attract even half a per cent of the total live investments made by both government and private sectors across India, apex industry body Assocham has suggested an annual special package of Rs 10,000 crore per year for five years from the central government.

This will give boost to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), food processing, horticulture, tourism and hospitality, IT/ITeS (information technology enabled services), BPO (business process outsourcing) and other potential industries, Assocham has observed.

“Constant flow of private investments and large industries is imperative to bring about sustainable growth, development, jobs and the long-lasting peace in the valley state,” said D.S. Rawat, Assocham's Secretary General while jointly releasing the chamber paper along with Babu Lal Jain, chairman, Entrepreneur Development Council at a press conference held in Jammu today.

“J&K has attracted live investments worth just over Rs one lakh crore out of the total live investments worth over Rs 140 lakh crore in India as of December 2012, according to a strategy paper titled ‘Special Assistance for Development in J&K,’ prepared by the Assocham Research Bureau.

Government is the major investment source in J&K evidently as 1.3 per cent of the total investments made by the central government across states was put in J&K while the state attracted a meager 0.3 per cent of the total investments made across India by the private sources.

“Out of the total 7,109 live investment projects worth about Rs 58 lakh crore from all government sources across India, J&K attracted 187 projects worth over Rs one lakh crore and of the total 9,950 live investment projects worth about Rs 83 lakh crore from private sector, J&K attracted 28 projects worth just over Rs 27,600 crore,” according to the paper. “While the frontline states in India are competing to attract domestic and foreign investors, J&K on the other hand could not attract any foreign investment as of the aforesaid period,” the industry body said.

However, J&K has clocked a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth rate of over 10 per cent as the value of live investments increased from about Rs 1.1 lakh crore with 212 projects as of December 2011 to 216 projects worth over Rs 1.3 lakh crore as of December 2012, highlights the Assocham paper.

The apex chamber has also made a request to the central government to announce budgetary support to J&K in forthcoming central budget as the same would spur job opportunities thereby inducing a productive ambience in the valley.