CII welcomes Industrial Promotion Policy

Ambika Sharma

Solan, February 17

Industrialists and investors in the state were disappointed today as the government made no announcement in the Budget to abolish state levies such as the Additional Goods Tax (AGT) and the Certain Goods Carried by Road Tax (CGCR) though they welcomed some initiatives.

The industrial sector is a major contributor to the State Gross Domestic Product but it did not find much favour in the second Budget of the Congress government. A majority of its demands regarding easing norms were not included in the Budget. The industrialists were now looking forward to the Industrial Promotion Policy-2024, which was announced in the Budget.

The Baddi-Baroriwala Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) welcomed the rollback of electricity duty (ED) for industrialists available under the Himachal Pradesh Industrial Policy-2019. They also appreciated the new start-up policy.

The BBNIA, however, demanded a reduction in the ED for other industries as well, said Rajeev Aggarwal, association president. It also welcomed the announcement that standard operating procedures would be formulated for dealing with fire incidents. “Among infrastructure development works, the announcement about the Sheetalput-Jagatkhana road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 70 crore is appreciable,” he added.

The association demanded the upgrade of other infrastructure in the BBN industrial cluster. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Himachal chapter, said the Budget was balanced and it would benefit various industries, categories of businesses and households. Gagan Kapoor, Chairman, CII, Himachal chapter, welcomed the announcement of the Industrial Promotion Policy-2024. “It will ensure the formulation of beneficial and robust rules and regulations for the growth of the industrial sector and ease of doing business in Himachal.”

Navesh Narula, Vice-Chairman, CII, Himachal chapter, said that the government decision to construct the Baddi-Nalagarh road is appreciable. “This road will go a long way in decongesting traffic in the BBN area, which has caused transportation delays.”

The CII also welcomed the decision related to the use of artificial intelligence tools such ChatGPT, Chatbot etc in the agriculture and horticulture sectors to facilitate access to land records.