Himachal approves proposals worth Rs.10,879 crore

The Himachal Pradesh government has approved 75 new industrial proposals and cleared 122 expansion projects in two-and-half years, an official said on Sunday.

These newly approved proposals and projects would draw an investment worth Rs.10,879.19 crore, said an official statement here.

The new and expansion proposals would provide employment to over 20,402 people, the statement said.

Multinational companies like United Biotech Pvt. Ltd, Reliance, Mahavir Spinning Mills, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Himalaya Alkalies & Chemicals Limited have set up their units in the state, he said.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd, Procter and Gambles Ltd, Johnson and Johnson Ltd, Mankind Pharma Ltd, Havells India Ltd, Abbott Healthcare Ltd, Torque Pharmaceuticals and Dabur India Ltd have expanded their existing units.

To ensure time-bound clearances for industrial proposals, the government has set up a state-level Single Window Clearance and Monitoring Authority.

"The government has introduced a common application for seeking approval of setting up industries and the approval will be granted within 45 days," said the spokesperson.

"The investors' meet has yielded good results as 104 projects worth Rs.4,189.07 crore has been approved by the government. These projects have been given time of two years to seek statutory approvals from the government," he said.

Several incentives like electricity duty for the specified extra high tension category consumers has been reduced to 13 percent from 15 percent.

Even the electricity duty for the existing medium and large Industries, except extra high tension units, has been reduced by two percent from 13 percent.

For any existing small industry the electricity duty has been reduced to five percent from seven per cent and any new small industry would now be required to pay only one percent electricity duty for five years.

The government is developing three state-of-the-art industrial hubs in Una, Kangra and Solan districts.

Official data shows that Himachal Pradesh got maximum investment from 2003 to 2010 when there was a special industrial package of the central government.

Most investments were in pharmaceutical, food processing, textile, packaging and light engineering sectors.