New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on October 7 the Uttarakand’s maiden investors summit in Dehradun where the state will showcase various investment opportunities in the existing as well as newer sectors such as wellness and medical. The ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit’ will be held on October 7-8. A five-day roadshow covering five metro cities culminated here today in Delhi with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat assuring investors of providing an enabling environment to do business in the state.
Earlier, the state organised similar roadshows in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, from August 22-29. The state’s first ever investor summit will be organised at Dehradun and will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to an official release. Rawat invited suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders, including the industry, on how to improve the business environment in the state and what more can be done to boost investments.
“We are enhancing the development of the state in terms of connectivity, manpower and industrial development. Saharanpur expressway will be completed in next 1-2 years, which will result in reaching Dehradun from Delhi in less than 3 hours, Deoband and Roorkee are being connected directly through rail line and the work has started on central government’s Rs 13,000 crore Bhartamala Yojana,” the chief minister said.
The summit will focus on potential in food processing, renewable energy, information technology, tourism and hospitality, automobile, bio-technology, pharmaceutical, natural fibres, wellness and AYUSH, film shooting, horticulture and floriculture and herbal and aromatic. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said some of the industries which are already there in the state have expressed for expansion of their business in the state. “Electric vehicle, solar energy, other renewable energy, auto sector these are areas where businesses are looking at expanding footprint in Uttarakhand as well as destination development in medical and health sector,” Kumar said.
Singh said the summit will see the state giving an exposition of what Uttarakhand is all about and what are the kind of things the state is doing. “And we are going to hold sectoral meetings. We have also invited a large number of countries to become our partner, so it is going to be a very focussed summit where sectoral specific discussions will be covered,” he added. Inviting investors, Singh said the state has the cleanest environment in the country and the law and order situation is very stable. “We already have got Rs 25,000 crore of investment for development of the highway sector and Rs 30,000 core for developing railway infrastructure in the state. Air connectivity to rest of the country and within the state has also improved with currently 22 flights operating in the state,” Singh said.
State Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said the government wants to develop Uttarakhand as a preferred destination for winder tourism in India and abroad. “We have established a single window clearance system for investors for ease of doing business in Uttarakhand. A website investuttarakhand.com has also been put in place for providing information about various investment opportunities in Uttarakhand for investors, which are integrated with various departments for required clearances,” said Manisha Panwar, principal secretary, industries, Government of Uttarakhand.
