Srinagar, Dec 15: The Union Cabinet’s nod on Wednesday to modifications in the central capital investment subsidy schemes under the industrial packages available to J&K has added a feather in the cap of Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, Valley’s apex industrial body, whose president Shakeel Qalandar was part of the Task Force which had recommended the modifications.
 Under the modified scheme, the capital investment subsidy for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units in J&K will be enhanced to 30 per cent of the investment on plant and machinery against 15 per cent available at present, at par with the units in the NER.
 The Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSME was constituted in 2009. One of the members of the task force was president Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, FCIK, Shakeel Qalandar.
 The task force was constituted to look into various issues confronting the MSME in the country. On the insistence of the FCIK, one of the issues taken up by the task force was the asymmetries in the central industrial package, 2002 that were discriminating between J&K and North Eastern states.
 “There were also certain riders in the central industrial package that prevented the unit holders in J&K from taking its advantage,” said Qalandar, adding that that however was not the case with their counterparts in the North Eastern States.
 Qalandar said the FCIK had resultantly in 2008 returned the package citing “it’s of no use.”
 “In 2009 the PM constituted the task force and among other things it was asked to look into this issue.”
 Qalandar said recommendations put forth by the members of the Task Force have been accepted by the central government and asymmetries removed from the package.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
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