Investors Meet draws industry worth Rs 1,006 cr

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 25

Contrary to claims of flight of industry from the state after the expiry of the Special Industrial Package, there has been investment of over Rs 1,006 crores in Himachal following the holding of the Investors Meet at New Delhi in October 5 as 38 new units are proposed.

Countering all claims of flight of industry from the state after the expiry of the Special Industrial Package to Himachal Industry Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that only two units of the same company had wound up operations in the state.

As per the latest information furnished by the Industry Department there has been an investment to the tune of Rs 2,764.22 crores in the state with the setting up of 2,050 new units. These units cleared by the single window have provided the jobs to a total of 20,663 persons.

As per the information compiled by the Industry Department, Unit –I and Unit-II of Ms Raychem RPG Ltd had wound up its operations. The two units were located at Plasra village in Nalagarh area of the state.

According to the department, no other industrial unit has shut despite opposition claiming that many investors had moved out after the special incentives period got over. “The definition of a sick unit has been fixed by the Reserve Bank of India and it is these kinds of financial institutions which declare a unit as sick,” said an official while talking about the sick units in various industrial estates.

It is for the first time that the Industry Department has come out with specific figure of investment after the holding of the Investors Meet at Delhi. The department has claimed that owning to these efforts 38 new units are proposed with a total investment of Rs 1006.70 crore though it has not been specified about the sectors in which these new investments have been made.

The first phase of the industrial meet was held at Bangalore, Ahmadabad and Mumbai in November, 2014 and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had led the team of officials from the industry, tourism, health, revenue and pollution control board. The cities of Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai had been targeted in the second phase the meet held in New Delhi in October 2015.

The government had planned the investors meet to attract industry in view of the fact that after the term of the Special Industrial Package got over, and the new investments have not been very encouraging.