CM to woo investors in Delhi

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 3

Caught in a vortex of graft cases being probed by the CBI, it’ll be business as usual for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh next week. He is due to meet prominent investors on October 5.

Corporate houses and industry bigwigs are set to congregate at Emerging Himachal — Investors Meet in Delhi.

There was speculation that Virbhadra Singh, facing CBI action, would postpone the scheduled investors’ meet, but the Chief Minister decided to stick to his earlier plans and go ahead with business as usual.

Senior functionaries of the Industry Department have already left for Delhi to make preparations for the big event and one-on-one interaction with investors and the Chief Minister is expected to leave.

“We have sent invites to almost 1,400 investors across the country who are looking at Himachal Pradesh as an ideal investment destination,” said Rajinder Singh, Director, Industry. He added that during the two-day investors’ meet, the Chief Minister would have one-on-one interaction with prominent industrialists.

The first phase of the industrial meet was held in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the second week of November last year. Though Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were to be targeted in the second phase, the investors’ meet would be held only in Delhi.

The government had planned the investors’ meet to attract industry in view of the fact that after the expiry of the special industrial package, new investments had been very sluggish.

Several confirmations along with proposals have already been received by the Industry Department from prospective investors. Prominent among them is a mega project by a multinational soft drink company keen to set up its unit and a Rs 3,000-crore proposal for tapping 500 MW solar energy by Surya Usha Pvt Ltd.

There are proposals like the Rs 500-crore project by Action Group in the solar energy and electronics field, SISCA group project worth Rs 200 crore for producing LED bulbs and Rs 300-crore expansion project by Indo Rama Group for manufacturing elastic thread.

The Chief Minister will be accompanied by a team of high-ranking functionaries from various departments, including Revenue, Tourism, Power, Horticulture, Industry, Information Technology, Environment and Pollution Control Board and Excise and Taxation.

Though the objective to create keen interest among big industrial houses about Himachal Pradesh through “Industry by Invitation” and “Invest Himachal” was well intended, the results from previous investors’ meet had not been very encouraging.