‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018’

The Government of Uttarakhand garners interest of Business Community in Maharashtra for the ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018’

 Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to inaugurate ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 18’ to be held from October 7-8 in Dehradun

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, August 29, 2018: The Government of Uttarakhand, today organized a roadshow in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in the build up to the ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit’ scheduled from October 7-8, 2018. The State’s first ever investors summit will be organized at Dehradun and will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. Uttarakhand’s maiden investor summit is organized in association with Government of Uttarakhand’s National Partner, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Shri Satpal Maharaj, Tourism Minister, Govt. of Uttarakhand, addressed the roadshow. Some of the senior officials of Government of Uttarakhand that also addressed the gathering in Mumbai included Mr. Utpal Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary, Ms. Manisha Panwar, Principal Secretary, Industries, Mr. Amit Negi, Secretary, Finance, Mr. Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Ravinath Raman, Secretary, Science & Biotechnology and Ms. Sowjanya, Director General & Commissioner, Industries and MD, SIIDCUL. In addition to the Government of Uttarakhand officials, various corporate leaders that graced the occasion include Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & M.D., Reliance Industries Limited, Mr. B Thiagarajan, Chairman, CII Maharashtra State Council & Joint Managing Director, Blue Star Ltd, Mr. Sushant Naik, National Head – Government & Public Affairs, Tata Motors Ltd., Mr. Vineet Mittal, Chairman, AVADAA Group, Mr. Sunil Khanna, President & MD, VERTIV Energy Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Arun Nanda, Chairman, Mr. Kavinder Singh, Managing Director & CEO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd., Mr. Hemant Sikka, President & CPO, Mahindra Group, Mr. Sankalp Pothbare, Managing Director – India, Bangladesh & Nepal, Kraft Heinz Company Ltd., Mr. Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises,  Mr. R Kannan,  Head – CPM,  Hinduja Group, Mr. Kapil Maheswari, CEO, Hinduja Renewable Power, Mr. Venkatachalam Kannapan, COO, Hinduja Housing Finance, Mr. Manishankar Ghosh, DGM- Finance, Ashok Leyland Ltd., Mr. Amit Verma, Associate Director- Government Affairs and Policy, Johnson and Johnson. Mr. Hiten Bheda, President, Mr. Jayesh Rambha, Chairman, Plastic Park, Mr. Manish Dedhia, Member, MC, Mr. Deepak Ballani, Principal Advisor, All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA), Mr. Ajey Kumar, Executive Director, Zee Learn Limited, ESSEL Group, Mr. Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President, Taj Hotels, Mr. K.S. Sarvan, Vivasvan International, Ms. Indrani Mukherjee, Furn Bambu Private Limited, Mr. Tharun Giri, The Wildflower Resorts & SPA.

Eminent experts of the Indian Film Industry that met and interacted with the Government of Uttarakhand delegation include Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, Producer and Director, Vishesh Films, Mr. Subhash Ghai, Producer and Director, Mukta Arts, Mr. Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson, Central Board of film Certification, Mumbai,  Mr. Vikramajeet Roy, Head, Film Facilitation Office, National Film Development Corporation, The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India,  Mr. Satish Kaushik, Producer and Director, Karol Baug Productions, Mr. T.P. Agarwal, President, Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association, Mr. Annu Malik, Music Composer and  Playback Singer,  Mr. Sonu Sood, Actor, Ms. Anuradha Paudwal,  Playback Singer among others.

The key objective of the roadshow was to share the investment opportunities in Uttarakhand and to seek active participation for ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018’. The roadshow received encouraging response and generated huge interest amongst the investors and film makers in Mumbai. The delegation from Uttarakhand Government highlighted the 12 focus sectors of the State, which include Food Processing, Horticulture & Floriculture, Herbal & Aromatic, Tourism & Hospitality, Wellness & AYUSH, Pharmaceuticals, Automobiles, Natural Fibers, Information Technology, Renewable Energy, Biotechnology and Film Shooting.

Speaking at the Roadshow, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand said, “We are pleased to have the eminent representatives of business community of Maharashtra and the film fraternity on board for ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018’. Mumbai being the financial and entertainment capital of the country, participation of investors from this state is an encouraging step to make Uttarakhand a popular destination amongst investors and film producers.”

Speaking at the roadshow, Shri Satpal Maharaj, Minister of Tourism said, “In line with this vision of our Hon’ble Chief Minister, and as a step forward, we have gathered here today to explore and discover the possibilities ahead for you to partner with us, the State of Uttarakhand. Tourism is a major driver of economic growth and livelihood promotion in Uttarakhand, with the services sector contributing over 34% to the total Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in the year 2015-16. State is very serious on the development of tourism sector in the state. Recently, we gave Tourism industry status to help investors avail all the incentives under MSME and Mega Industrial policy.”

Addressing the industry leaders at the roadshow, Mr. Utpal Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand said, “Uttarakhand offers a diverse potential for industrial growth with its robust infrastructure, investor-friendly policies and Ease of Doing Business in the State. We look forward to forge alliances with the business community of Maharashtra for long term business interests and mutual benefits.

Ms. Manisha Panwar, Principal Secretary, Industries said, “It gives us immense pleasure to welcome the business community and members of the film industry to invest in the State. The Government of Uttarakhand is focusing on development of a Film City in the State to provide an excellent platform for film production in Uttarakhand. The scenic beauty of the State offers a wide range of options to film makers for their upcoming projects.”

Mr. Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary, Tourism and Information & Public Relations, Government of Uttarakhand said, “With its snow-clad mountains, colourful flora and fauna and splendid lakes, Uttarakhand is dotted with large number of beautiful locales, making it an ideal destination for shooting of films. In order to encourage filmmakers to shoot their movies in the State, we provide incentives through our dedicated policy on Film shooting. Recently, the Government exempted all films shot in the state from shooting charges. The State Government has also constituted ‘Uttarakhand Film Development Council (UFDC)’, comprising 25 members from the film fraternity with an aim to develop the local cinema.”

In order to attract investment into the various sectors of the state and thus contribute to the development of the economy as a whole, the Government of Uttarakhand has taken several policy initiatives. In addition to the State MSME Policy 2015 and Mega Industrial & Investment Policy 2015, dedicated sector policies have been drafted to boost the industrial climate and act as a facilitator of business.

Uttarakhand offers a geographical advantage to budding entrepreneurs of Maharashtra. The state`s industry can cater to the important consumer market of the National Capital region due to its physical proximity and seamless connectivity.  Important industrial areas of the state lie in the influence region of Amritsar Kolkata industrial corridor which will open up new opportunities. It also has a well-established industrial base of long-standing and reputed business houses, with a large number of ancillary units in Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, etc. Major players have set up their units in Uttarakhand due to congenial business environment with their state-of-the-art operating practices being fed into the local production environment.

About Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018 : Government of Uttarakhand is organizing ‘Destination Uttarakhand: Investors Summit 2018’ on October 7^th – 8^th 2018. The summit will focus on showcasing investment opportunities in Uttarakhand and will bring the various stakeholders like investors, policy makers, and trade bodies from the global business ecosystem together. The summit would principally focus on 12 focus sectors, which include Food Processing, Horticulture & Floriculture, Herbal & Aromatic, Tourism & Hospitality, Wellness & AYUSH, Pharmaceuticals, Automobiles, Natural Fibres, Information Technology, Renewable Energy, Biotechnology and Film Shooting.