J&K chief secy makes strong investment pitch at London meet

London (UK), November 10 : Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Thursday called upon global investors to come and invest in the Valley and reap the benefits there.
Mehta was speaking as guest of honour at London Global Convention 2022 on Corporate Governance and Sustainability in London organised by the Institute of Directors, India, on the theme 'Building an Effective Board that Works and Top Global Trends'.
The chief secretary extended an invitation to the delegates to come and explore vast investment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir. He urged them to support J&K administration in its efforts to transform the Union Territory (UT) through growth and prosperity.
He said his participation at the global event is aimed at building trust among the global business fraternity and showcase the strengths of Jammu and Kashmir as a potential investment destination.
He informed delegates that around 14 million tourists visited the UT this year and the administration has initiated measures to promote hidden and offbeat tourist destinations offering a new and varied experience to visitors. He said the UT offers huge potential in adventure and pilgrimage, as well as spiritual and medical tourism.
He said the administration has come up with Industrial Land Allotment Policy and Jammu and Kashmir Private Industrial Estate Development Policy to facilitate public-private partnership in the industrial sector. He also informed the delegates about the policy for land-use change for industrial development, FDI policy and other measures taken to usher in an era of growth in the UT.
The chief secretary also provided details about the launch of a single-window portal as a one-stop solution for attaining all the approvals and permissions in a time-bound manner. "About 215 services are active on our single window portal ushering in the age of less government and more governance in its real sense," he said.
He said the central government was working towards making India a hub of global supply chain under the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign. He said a host of initiatives such as 'Make in India', 'Vocal for Local', promoting exports under 'District as Export Hub', market links for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) industries to both domestic and global value chains have been rolled out in this direction.
The chief secretary said the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy (JKIP) 2021-30 was a welcome change from the previous industrial policies and the industrial ecosystem in J&K is set to witness a paradigm shift. "The Jammu and Kashmir administration took bold and decisive steps for breaking the shackles in the path of development and the UT is moving towards integration with national economic trajectory, to become a prosperous and self-reliant Union Territory," he said.
He said decisions have been taken to change the constitutional framework and remove artificial legal and economic barriers between J&K and the rest of the country.
He informed the guests that a strong foundation for democracy has been built with the genuine participation of people at the lowest rungs of governance in panchayats and urban local bodies.
He assured the participants that the administration was committed to transforming UT into a 'prosperous and progressive region'. "J&K has a robust economy that is centred around agriculture, horticulture and the services sector. It has excellent land and water resources," he said.