Jharkhand is working on a new industrial and investment policy which will be launched soon to spur industrial growth and jobs in the post lockdown period, chief minister Hemant Soren announced on Saturday while chairing a stakeholders’ meeting in Delhi to deliberate on the way forward.

During his address to the invited audience to discuss a possible draft of the Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2021, Hemant assured potential investors of a red-carpet welcome if they were willing to pump in funds in Jharkhand and be a part of the state’s growth story.

On the need for a fresh policy, he said, “Covid-19 has created a crisis in industrial output and adversely affected value chains. The more I travel to the interior areas and the more I interact with the people there, I get the feeling that the industrial sector needs some help to overcome the strain caused by an extended and unplanned lockdown.

“For a revamped industrial growth, there is a need for a fresh relook at the policies to create jobs at a faster pace as well as generate revenues. Hence, we are coming up with a renewed policy for investment promotion for which we are here to collect your feedback.”

Chief minister Hemant Soren greets delegates at the stakeholders' meet in New Delhi on Saturday. Telegraph Picture

Hemant said he believed feedback of stakeholders during the drafting stages of the policy was crucial. “Stakeholders should have a say in any policy that is meant for them. So rather than coming to you all after drafting the policy, we are here to collect your feedback on ways we should shape your policies,” he said.

Chief secretary Sukhdev Singh said unlike earlier, political instability wasn’t an issue anymore and that Jharkhand was only waiting to expand its horizon. “Yes, we faced problems due to political instability for about a decade and-a- half but that is passé now. Today, we have a stable government in the state which offers a plethora of opportunities and easily available resources required to press the growth button,” he said.

Providing an outlook of the draft Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2021, industries secretary Pooja Singhal explained the various focus sectors, especially the high-priority sectors like textiles & apparel, automobiles, auto-components & electric vehicles, agro-food processing & meat processing, pharmaceuticals and electronics system design & manufacturing (ESDM).

She also provided a brief overview of key incentives offered in the policy including the Anchor Unit Subsidy, Early Bird Subsidy and Incentives on VAT/ GST.

“The focus of the new policy is to generate five lakh jobs and seek investments to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years. We are treating this policy as a pathway for Jharkhand’s economic revival post the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

On land availability, which has always been a contentious issue in the state, Singhal said that the government had plenty of space to cater to different needs. “We have about 9,906 acre in our land bank at the moment. Of this 2,015 acre is readily available for allotment across key industrial regions like Adityapur, Ranchi, Bokaro and Santhal Parganas,” she said, adding that the biggest unique selling point of their upcoming policy will be to develop every district as a potential export hub.

“In all 24 districts, each has its unique products which require value addition. The state government has already set up export promotion councils at the district level to map products and plan tie-ups and other interventions,” she said.

Apart from the chief minister, chief secretary and industries secretary, the CM’s principal secretary Rajiv Arun Ekka was also present. This was the first major event aimed at discussing industrial growth even since the Hemant government came to power in December 2019.

MoUs signed with Ficci, Flipkart

Delegates at the stakeholders' meet in New Delhi on Saturday. Telegraph Picture

The state industries department signed MoUs with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Ficci) and Flipkart Internet Private Limited.

While Ficci will offer technical handholding for investment promotion, Flipkart will work towards infrastructure and industrial development, including social development.

As per the MoU, Flipkart will operate Flipkart fulfilment centres and facility hubs across the state, creating about three thousand direct and indirect jobs. The Jharkhand government will facilitate the new investment and ongoing investment operations of the Flipkart Group within the state.

The department and Flipkart will work together towards the construction of a warehouse and logistics structure within the state.

The Jharkhand will also help Flipkart invest with various departments through a single-window system. Flipkart will partner with the government and empower all logistics and warehousing policies related to e-commerce to provide a favourable business environment to the sector to encourage startups and small to medium enterprises.