State Government holds maiden meeting of Jharkhand Investment Promotion Board in Mumbai as a precursor to its investment promotion campaign
Mumbai, 8 July 2016: The Government of Jharkhand held the inaugural meeting of the Jharkhand Investment Promotion Board (JIPB) in India’s financial capital, Mumbai. With the Chief Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Board, the Board comprises at least ten industry representatives nominated by the Government – with due focus on priority sectors such as food processing, energy, automobile, IT-ITeS, tourism, infrastructure development, healthcare and education.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Raghubar Das, who is also in charge of the Industries department, said in his opening remarks, “While we are very happy and enthusiastic about our accomplishment in instituting DIPP’s Business Reforms desirables, we call upon industry representatives to reflect on these systems in a frank and forthright manner, so that we can completely iron out discrepancies and make them more responsive, robust and long term. We aim to ace the systems compliance agenda and will also strive to bring the most promising investment proposals to Jharkhand. Investors are our partners in progress and this partnership, I believe, will be meaningful when it shapes up appropriately at the conception stage.
“Jharkhand is the fastest growing economy in Eastern India. Throughout the 15 month term-to-date of the state government, there has been no major law and order issue and in next 4 to 5 years Jharkhand will be a completely different state. All our sector specific policies are in place and are dynamic and flexible” the Chief Minister added.”
Speaking on the occasion, Shri. Tom Albanese, Group CEO, Vedanta Resources emphasized the need for the State to drive its own technical capabilities in order to scale up through intelligent investment in research and development. He said the State should be proactive in participating in global mining conclaves to woo new investors.”
Shri Rajesh Adani, MD, Adani Group, stressed the need for positive branding of the State which has been brought to such an unprecedented position by the decisive leadership of the Chief Minister.
Shri. T V Narendran, MD, Tata Steel said, “Make in India actually began in Jharkhand with Tata Group’s pioneering investments. DIPP’s recognition of the State’s business reforms has been a great turning point in the perception. The leadership of the Chief Minister has been very decisive and responsive, and this has contributed to the brand in an unprecedented way. The governance stability that has been ensured and endured has been a clear winner. The Government needs to now reach out aggressively to the capital equipment manufacturing sector from China, Japan and Germany for investments that would fuel growth of mineral rich Eastern India in general and Jharkhand in particular.”
Several members present during JIPB were unanimous in their call to the Government and industry jointly building the perception of industry as a good force of sustainable development, while ensuring that industrialization, especially mining, is sustainable. The Government acknowledged challenges and reaffirmed its resolve to scale up road, rail connectivity and especially, air connectivity to boost Jharkhand’s position as a favoured investment destination.
Smt. Rajbala Verma, Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand while acknowledging that there were many challenges the State faced, said that these challenges were opportunities for investors, and called on the members of the SIPB to be proactive brand ambassadors of the State, and jointly drive the campaign along with the State Government.
Present among the industry representatives were, Shri Rajesh Adani, MD, Adani Group, Shri Rajeev Jhawar, Managing Director, Usha Martin Ltd, Shri P K Singh, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Shri T V Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel Ltd, Shri Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Resources, Shri Om Parkash Mittal, President, Laghu Udyog Bharti India, Father E Abraham S J, Director, XLRI, Jamshedpur and Shri Anindya Sen, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi. They commended the Government for being in near-perfect coordination with the Union Government – be it in terms of reviving the health of the power sector through schemes such as UDAY or the ‘Make in India’ Mission.
During the meeting with key industrialists, the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary took the participants through the recent measures and the agenda for the coming six months. One by one, the concerns articulated by participants were either responded to or noted down for action.
The maiden ‘Handbook for Shelf on Projects in the State of Jharkhand’ – a comprehensive document containing details of the key investible projects in the State – was released during the meeting. The Handbook is meant to serve as a guiding document for prospective investors to comprehend the scope of opportunities in Jharkhand. It will assist investors in pursuing expansion plans by identifying various options for investments in Jharkhand and choosing appropriate ones based upon their areas of interest, expertise, scale, budget and vision.
“The Handbook will work as a foundation for the long-term development of Jharkhand and offers an important tool to support the State in its effort to attract investments,” Chief Secretary Smt. Raj Bala Verma said.
The JIPB will hereafter meet twice a year. The JIPB augurs well for the campaign since it promises to greatly enhance the State’s brand value by distinguishing the consultation process as absolutely direct compared to the survey-based convention.
About Jharkhand Global Investors Summit 2017
In a bid to boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative driven by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and develop high-value investment opportunities in Jharkhand, the State Government led by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Raghubar Das has conceptualized the maiden ‘Jharkhand Global Investors Summit’, to be held on 16-17 February 2017 in Ranchi. The Summit aims to establish Jharkhand as a premier investment destination for both foreign as well as domestic investors based upon the macro-economic system through equitable and sustainable growth, enhance prospects of livelihoods for the State’s people and provide a platform for new ideas and innovations for future investment opportunities.