Srinagar, Aug 7: Jammu and Kashmir administration has ‘locked-in’ a whopping Rs 23,000 crore investment and moving beyond MoUs, the process is in different stages of execution.
Sources informed that out of Rs 23,000 crore investment which would be invested in the Union Territory, Rs 11,000 crore investment would go to Kashmir division and Rs 12,000 crore to Jammu division. This investment has been made by the corporate houses, business families from outside J&K.
“Among the top investors who are investing in Jammu and Kashmir is Jindal Steel Works. The company has been allotted land in an Industrial estate at Lassipora in South Kashmir. Other investments are coming from telecom players, hosiery sector and even from foreign countries such as Japan as well as Dubai,” they said.
In Kashmir, the investments are coming in sectors such as healthcare, wellness centres, tourism, apple and food processing, meat processing, BPOs, printed circuit boards and educational institutions.
A senior Industries department official said, “This is not about MOUs but investors have paid up for land and in some cases even got it registered. Investors are investing Rs 11,000 crore in Kashmir and Rs 12,000 crore in Jammu which mean a total investment of Rs 23,000 crore. There are many investment proposals in the pipeline and will get materialized soon.”
With just 242.25 acres of land under industry in Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory administration was wooing investors by opening up a 6000-acre land bank for setting up multiplexes, processing units, food parks, film production centres, schools, Information Technology parks and medical complexes.
For the first time since 1947, the administration started a major exercise to convince investors across the country to buy land and invest in the Union Territory.
In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ambitious central scheme to boost block-level industrial development of J&K.
The Central Sector Scheme for Industrial Development of Jammu and Kashmir will have an outlay of Rs 28,400 crore up to 2037.
The objective is to generate jobs leading to socio-economic development of the area and to boost industry and service-led development of J&K, thereby attracting new investment. The scheme will offer many incentives, among them capital investment incentive at the rate of 30 per cent in Zone A and 50 percent in Zone B on investments made in plant and machinery (in manufacturing) or construction of building and other durable physical assets (in service sector). Units with an investment up to Rs 50 crore will be eligible to avail this incentive.