From just highways & harvest to hub of innovation: Chief Secy’s Haryana vision

The Cluster Plug and Play Scheme is revolutionising the industrial landscape of Haryana, and amplifying ease of doing business.

According to the Industry Department, so far, 64 projects have been approved, with grant-in-aid totalling Rs 318.49 crore. The scheme, now extended till December 31, 2025, offers 50 per cent of the project cost (up to Rs 5 crore) as government assistance to develop flatted factory complexes over a minimum of five acres.

The state has even allowed 10 per cent cost flexibility to ensure ease in execution.

Entrepreneurs no longer need to wait for years to get land, utilities, or approvals. Instead, they can walk into ready-to-use, pre-equipped factory spaces and begin production immediately.

Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi said Haryana was fast emerging as one of India’s most dynamic and business-friendly states. Far from being just a land of highways and harvest, it was rapidly transforming into a hub of entrepreneurship, innovation, and industrial growth, he added.

Rastogi, through a series of reform-driven measures and direct oversight, is spearheading the transformation, which promises to redefine the state’s economic landscape.

Appreciating the model, Rastogi said it provided an “instant launchpad” for industries, especially MSMEs, by cutting down gestation periods and offering all basic infrastructure upfront — power, water, connectivity, and compliance — under one roof.

“The state’s ambition goes beyond cities. Under the Programme to Accelerate Development for MSME Advancement (PADMA), Haryana plans to establish mini industrial parks in all 143 blocks of the state — bringing enterprise to the doorsteps of rural youth,” Rastogi said. According to him, each park will house at least ten plug-and-play sheds equipped with shared facilities. So far, 16 applications have been received, seven projects have secured final approval, and three more are in-principle cleared.

To support the expansion, a new umbrella policy is being framed to provide enhanced incentives to Tier-2 and 3 towns, encouraging decentralised industrial growth beyond Gurugram and Faridabad. He noted that the PADMA initiative was “the rural industrial revolution of Haryana”, ensuring balanced development and job creation in smaller towns and villages.

Commissioner and Secretary (Industries and Commerce) Amit Kumar Agrawal said the state government had eliminated 1,113 compliances across 14 Acts, and decriminalised 37 minor provisions, making it easier for entrepreneurs to focus on innovation instead of paperwork. The simplification includes 842 business-related and 271 citizen-related compliances, with a target to reach 1,500 by December 2025.

A Deregulation Committee was set up on August 27, 2025, to adopt the best international practices in administrative reform. Backing these reforms, the upcoming Haryana Jan Vishwas Bill aims to replace imprisonment clauses with monetary penalties, institutionalising a culture of trust between government and business. According to him, to further ensure integrated planning, every infrastructure project above Rs 100 crore now undergoes evaluation by the Network Planning Group and the Empowered Group of Secretaries under the PM GatiShakti framework.

As of October 2025, 55 departments have been trained to use the unified platform for mapping inter-departmental dependencies in power, transport, and logistics projects.

The goal is to plan 10 major projects through PM GatiShakti by the end of 2025 — ensuring faster execution and better coordination across departments. The government has established a dedicated GIFT (Global Interface for Trade Facilitation) Cell in Panchkula, funded at a cost of Rs 13.59 crore under the RAMP scheme.

Staffed with eight trade experts, the cell assists MSMEs in export readiness, quality certifications, and global outreach.

The Invest Haryana Portal (investharyana.in) has become the single window for all business-related services. Entrepreneurs can now apply for 43 incentives, licenses, and NOCs online.