The new Industrial Policy has been much awaited for and finally it has been cleared which should open new gates of hopes and cast off any gloom or feeling of not getting enough attention from the Governments- both the UT as well as central. The New Industrial Policy with four inbuilt incentives which has been announced and detailed by Lieutenant Governor is aiming at broad basing the contribution of Jammu and Kashmir towards the nation’s economy which means a well defined developmental and constructive role of manufacturing and service sector units in the UT which are poised to be vastly benefitted by the new policy. This policy will be operative for a long period starting from the date of notification until 2037 and has the distinction of covering up to the block level thus opening opportunities for more of SEs and SMEs. And changing the face of hitherto neglected and far flung areas is the hall mark of the said policy. Opportunities for maximum utilization of local strengths, human resources and talents would see new hope and direction. Experts and planners put the new policy at the threshold of revolutionising industrialisation in Jammu and Kashmir. While we are quite optimistic about the efforts of the two Governments in their own sphere in ensuring a huge investment of Rs.28400 crore getting fructified which because of the very nature of the industries being labour intensive, could generate huge employment opportunities , not less than 4 to 5 lakh jobs for the youth of the Union Territory. Here, though needless to say, we would touch the very concept of employment and jobs in that the approach towards jobs being only limited to Government jobs has got to be replaced with stress on more self employment opportunities and from the expanding area of the private sector. Government or public sector increasingly is confronted with shrinking of opportunities s particularly in traditional areas and fields. There can be political connotations in criticising the role of the “Big Houses” but the fact remains that these Houses could and are learnt to have shown interest in setting up more manufacturing units not only in conventional commerce disciplines but in Information Technology, food processing, automobiles and the like which can come under the category of being eco-friendly because Jammu and Kashmir being primarily a tourist region of the country is susceptible to environmental concerns. The broad feature of the policy is about not only indigenous investments but even from abroad expected to give a new fillip to the industrial growth which could be possible only due to the constitutional and administrative changes in the form of abrogation of Article 370 of the UT which was proving as watertight compartment and impediment for getting the required dimensions, spread and stretch of the industrial sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Thanks to the key provisions of the new Industrial Policy, should now all lethargies and a pessimist attitude towards the present slightly struggling status and future of industrial activities in the UT be not cast away as it is only the industrious and enthusiastic young people who are encouraged to come forward as a capital incentive up to Rs.7.5 crore is entitled to be received by a smaller industrial unit with an investment in plant and machinery up to Rs.50 crore. Not only this much, additional capital interest subvention at the rate of 6 per cent for seven years continuously is payable to eligible units. It is expected that the new policy with various innovative provisions and outreach from urban to block levels would usher in an era of making small industrial units as engine of cumulative economic growth and an equitable development. New Industrial Estates and identifying 24000 kanals of land in different districts would further give a push to industrial working and expansion. Under the new policy, new direction in respect of skill development, ease of doing business etc would facilitate domestic investment from leading business houses of the country and even from outside.
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