A team of Tata Group, one of the biggest business conglomerates of the country, which arrived here Tuesday on a three-day visit, met local industrialists and entrepreneurs to discuss possibilities of joint business collaborations, trainings and development programmes.
Addressing students at University of Kashmir in an event,senior vice-president and global head of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)VenguswamyRamaswamy said the purpose of the visit is to look at Jammu andKashmir in a “holistic 360 degree view to participate in the development andgrowth of the state in a large way”.
“The chairman (Tata Group) called all of us before the visitand asked us to get a ground level view from here by meeting a large number ofpeople from different departments. We visited Jammu yesterday and will spend acouple of days here. The intent is to meet people from agriculture, handloometc,” Ramaswamy said.
He said the team on Tuesday visited the Silk Factory atSolina and will be also meeting saffron growers and artisans related tohandicrafts. “We are meeting lots of people on the ground to get an overview onhow we can participate. The way we are looking at it is J&K for the stateitself which means how we can create a vibrant economy here which can benefitthe state,” Ramaswamy said.
He said another aspect of the visit was to create synergybetween the J&K and its neighbouring states such as Punjab and Haryana.
“We are also looking at how we can create programmes andleverage them. Given the natural wealth and resources that J&K carries, weare looking at avenues to make the state available for the larger wellness ofthe country,” he said.
Ramaswamy said the Tata Group will be launching J&K-specific programmes and initiatives in days to come. “We are strong in various sectors and the core fundamental to all of the development is education. How do we develop the right talent is the key.
Telling the youth what is happening in the industry is something we do in rest of the country and are looking to do here as well. Tata Group has more than 105 companies with eight hundred thousand employees and USD 100 billion revenue. We are the largest employer in the country and UK and look forward to utilise this here,” he said.
The other team members from Tata Group include GirishKrishnamurthy, vice president and head strategic initiatives, Chairman’sOffice, Tata Group and Shankar Ranganathan, principal, Tata StrategicManagement Group.
Earlier during the day, the team held interaction withowners and employees of Information Technology companies at Rangreth IndustrialEstates where they discussed possibility of training youth in IT sector. “Theyare looking at how they can set-up a centre which can accommodate 500 Kashmiristudents for giving online exams without going outside the state. The visitingteam has also met stakeholders in power sector and held discussions on how theycan have joint collaborations in this sector,” said an official who wasaccompanying the team.
“Harnessing of energy and utilization of minerals such asbauxite and coal etc is also on the agenda of the team. They also visitedKashmir Haat today and will be holding interactions with stakeholders fromhorticulture and tourism sector on Wednesday,” the official said.
Sheikh Ashiq, president, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce andIndustry who was among local industrialists who interacted with the Tata Groupexecutives said the focus of the meeting was on joint collaborations in servicesector and other areas including healthcare, education.