Himachal CM woos entrepreneurs

Says there's scope for investment in IT, education, healthcare & horticulture

Himachal Pradesh is targeting to secure investments to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore by March 2007.

The state has attracted fresh investments of Rs 10,700 crore in the industrial sector during the past two years. This is in addition to the Rs 30,000 crore invested in the state's power sector over a period of time by private entrepreneurs.

Talking to mediapersons following an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Monday, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virabhadra Singh said that Himachal could be an ideal destination for all major industries in the country for their expansion projects as the state offered various incentives to the industry in addition to the special package of incentives announced by the Central government.

The incentives included income tax holiday, excise duty concessions for new units, investment subsidy on plant and machinery and central plant subsidy.

He said that out of the estimated 21,000 mw of hydropower generation potential in the state, only 6,000 mw was being harnessed at present while projects with an installed capacity of 4,000 mw were in the pipeline.

Apart from power, there was also scope for investment in sectors like information technology, education, healthcare and horticulture, he said.

Earlier, addressing the interactive meeting, Singh said that the rich diversity of flora in Himachal offered immense opportunities for medicinal and aromatic plants based industries. He pointed out that over 1,600 species of flora of high commercial value were available in the state.

Stating that a software technology park had been developed at Shimla and the establishment of a biotechnology park was on the anvil, he said that the "emphasis is on ecologically sustainable projects like IT and BT which complement our environment".

Singh said that his government was visualising a major role for the private sector in ensuring all-round development of the state. The government's endeavour was to provide a better physical and social infrastructure.

"We are also seeking to evolve new institutional designs so that all areas of government activity giving rise to hidden inefficiencies can be subjected to market discipline," he added.

G Vivekanand, vice-chairman of CII, Andhra Pradesh, said that the CII had partnered with the Himachal government for drawing up an action plan with a vision to develop the state as a global industrial and tourist destination.