Destination Uttarakhand, an introduction to New India :Modi

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi while inaugurating the ‘Uttarakhand Investors Summit-2018’ has said that investors will get divine inspiration and consciousness from the land of ‘Baba Kedar’. He said that ‘Destination Uttarakhand’ is a representative of ‘New India’.

The Prime Minister said that the state government led by Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat is trying hard to give a new direction to Uttarakhand and the forum of ‘Destination Uttarakhand’ is a culmination of such efforts. He said that the meaning of SEZ in Uttarakhand is Spiritual Eco Zone (SEZ) which has lakh time more power than any other SEZ.

Prime Minister said that many efforts are being made to increase connectivity in the state and All Weather road and Rishikesh-Karanprayag Railway project will boost tourism in the state. He further said that tourism has been given the status of industry and many policy reforms have been done. “ Organic farming here has great potential and value addition in agriculture will help increase the income of farmers. India could become a leader in renewable energy and Uttarakhand has so much energy potential that it can take care of energy needs of the country,” he said.

Prime Minister said that production under ‘Make in India’ should be for the entire world. He said that progress of country is only possible if the possibilities of the state can be transformed into realities and the good thing that a healthy competition has started amongst states.

Prime Minister said that age of 18 years is important period. Uttarakhand has an ancient culture although it is only 18 years that the state was formed. The state has the desire to do something new and the central government will provide every possible help for the economic development of the state. Exhorting the investors participating in the ‘Investors Summit’ to invest in Uttarakhand, Prime Minister said that central government will necessary help to the state government to go ahead .

Prime Minister said that country is heading fast towards a ‘New India’ and India is going to be the growth engine of the world’s prosperity. “Fiscal deficit is decreasing and inflation is also under control. The middle class has increased. India has improved its rank in Ease of doing business after economic reforms. More than 1400 old and impractical laws have been abolished. After independence of the country, GST is the biggest tax reform. Speedy work is being done in infrastructure sector with building of 27 kilometers of National Highways every day. The work on railway lines is being done at double the speed. The work is on to built 100 new airports and helipads in the entire country. The ‘Udaan’ project is important in linking the cities of the country. ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme has opened avenues of investment in health sector,” he said.

Prime Minister said that ‘Destination Uttarakhand’ represents ‘New India’. The state government led by Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat is working hard to give new direction to Uttarakhand and ‘Destination Uttarakhand’ is culmination of such efforts. He hoped that these efforts will come true on the ground.

Welcoming the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Mr Trivendra Singh Rawat also welcomed state Governor Baby Rani Maurya, all central ministers, ambassador of Czech Republic, ambassador of Japan, Yog Guru Swami Ramdev and other dignitaries from industry and investors from the country and abroad to ‘Dev Bhoomi’. He thanked all on behalf of from 1.25 crore residents of the state for reposing in ‘Destination Uttarakhand’.

Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat said that the dignified presence of Prime Minister at the forum has given encouragement to the state. Congratulating the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Uttarakhand for getting the ‘Champion of Earth’ award, he said that it was a matter of pride for 125 crore Indians.

Chief Minister said that inspiration for ‘Destination Uttarakhand’ has been received from the unsurpassed thinking of Prime Minister and cooperative federalism. There should be healthy competition between the states and this is the philosophy of ‘Destination Uttarakhand’.

He said that when the state was formed in the year 2000,from the industry point of view it was backward area and not much opportunities for investment and employment were available. Later former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by giving a special industrial package helped the state in standing on it’s own feet.

Speaking to the entrepreneurs, Chief Minister said that nature has bestowed immense natural beauty upon “Devdhara’ and we have presented the possibilities present in the state before you. “ I can assure you that our relationship will not be that of a government and investor only but a partner in the well being of the state,” he said.

This conference is being organized to understand the viewpoint of Uttarakhand for economic development, employment generation, improving the standard of lives of citizens, regional balance and inclusive development.

Chief Minister said that our government has taken several policy measures and incentives to encourage investment. For this, 10 new policies have been approved in the last one month. “I am happy that most of the suggestions of entrepreneurs have been included while making these policies. Even before the summit, about Rs 70,000 crore MoUs have been signed”, he said.

Chief Minister said that all the qualities that one needs for a better business environment are there in the state. Our identity is of a safe state. In our state, skilled manpower is there and electricity rates are quite cheap here. We are ahead of all other hill states in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’. Single window clearance system is implemented to ease the procedures for investors in Uttarakhand. When the state was created then the per capita income was Rs 25,000 and today it has increased to Rs. 1,73,820. This proves that Uttarakhand’s performance is excellent on development parameters.

Business hub of Uttarakhand – districts of Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar are connected with major trading markets of the country through a strong rail network. Dehradun airport figures in the busiest airports of the country. After the Udaan project, air connectivity will be available in each and every part of the state.

Uttarakhand has a strong network of roads, which includes 2,954 km National Highway, 4,637 km State Highway and 34,515 km rural motorway. Efforts have been made to increase connectivity through rural roads and state highways in hill areas. All Weather Road and 125 km long Rishikesh Karnprayag rail line will strengthen road and rail connectivity to Char Dhams. In terms of road, rail and air connectivity, Uttarakhand is an ideal destination for investment.

Chief Minister said that we want to make the economy of Uttarakhand tourism based. That is why tourism has been given industry status. We are constructing 13 new Tourism Destination in 13 Districts. There are plenty of investment opportunities in this area.

Uttarakhand is the center of Yoga, spirituality and wellness. Here, rare herbs and Ayurvedic plants of Himalayas having medicinal properties are present. We want to make Uttarakhand a center of fitness, wellness and happiness. In the area of renewable energy, Uttarakhand has the capacity to produce 4,000 MW of solar power. Pirul policy has been framed for preparing bio-fuel from pine leaves, which are called Pirul in the local language.

Prime Minister has given inspiration that Uttarakhand should be developed as an organic state. We have set a target to develop 10,000 organic clusters in the state. So far, we have started work by selecting 4,500 clusters. Considering the large market of organic products, this is also an attractive area for investors.

Describing the land of Ganga, Yamuna, saints, Sufis and gurus in the Himalaya and the lap of nature as Tapo Bhoomi, Chief Secretary Mr. Utpal Kumar Singh said that this is Adi Guru Shankaracharya, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Sufi Saint Hazrat Sabir Kaliyari, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi’s Tapo Bhoomi. Because of the entrepreneurship of the people here, activities like youth startups, prasad being made by women self-help groups, repair of roads, home stay are on. In the last 18 years, the per capita GSDP of the state has increased tenfold to Rs 1.60 lakh. Road network has increased to 789 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. He said that along with development, the people here also contributed in the protection of nature.

In his welcome address, Chief Secretary said that 12 areas have been identified by assessing the unique characteristics of the state. Food Processing, Tourism and Hospitality, Ayush and Wellness, Automobile and Auto Equipment, Pharmaceuticals, Natural Fibers, Horticulture and Floriculture, Herbs and Aromatic Plants, IT, Bio Technology and Renewable Energy Sector are the prominent ones. He said that 50 projects which are worth investment have been prepared. Uttarakhand has emerged as a business destination in the past 18 years. Chief Secretary said that there are several reasons for attracting investors in Uttarakhand. Pollution-free environment, surplus water, peaceful atmosphere, positive attitude of the state government towards industry, rail, road and air connectivity, modern and integrated industrial space, low cost electricity, excellent educational institutions, hill stations are the main factors. He said that due to Prime Minister’s special attachment with Uttarakhand, All Weather Char Dham road project, Bharatmala project, Karanprayag rail project and widening of large number of inter-state roads are on.

MD of Amul RS Sodhi while giving information about the dairy business said that it has a lot of potential in Uttarakhand. Mahindra Group MD Pawan Kumar Goenka said that good governance in Uttarakhand are helpful in industry and investment. Sanjeev Puri of ITC said that there can be a lot of work in the field of food processing in the state. Giving details of the work being done on the inspiration of Prime Minister for the reconstruction of Kedarnath, Sajjan Jindal of Jindal Group said that entrepreneurs should invest in Uttarakhand otherwise they will be deprived of such excellent opportunities. Pranav Adani of the Aadni Group said that his group has planned projects for the state in the areas of Metro, Smart City and Solar. Industrial policies of Uttarakhand and single window system are suitable for investment. Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali highlighted the business possibilities of Yoga, Ayush and wellness in Uttarakhand.

Minister for Communications and Information, Singapore Mr. S. Iswaran, Japan’s Ambassador to India Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu and Czech Republic Ambassador Milan Hovorka also addressed the programme. On this occasion, along with Governor Shmt. Baby Rani Maurya, Ministers, MLAs of the Uttarakhand government, entrepreneurs and investors who came to participate in the Summit were present.

Earlier, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, who came to inaugurate the Investors Summit held at the International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, also reviewed the theme pavilion and exhibition venue.