Will invest Rs 100 bn in Nepal in a decade: Ramdev

Indian yoga guru, Swami Ramdev, on Wednesday inaugurated a Patanjali Ayurved factory in Nepal and announced he will invest over (Indian) Rs 100 billion in a decade in Nepal, to spur production and create thousands of jobs in the Himalayan state.

Ramdev, who is on a week-long visit here that started on Tuesday, also assured that Patanjali will "not take away" the profit made in Nepal, but invest it back.

Patanjali has already started its factory in southern Bara district with an investment of IRs 1.5 billion that was inaugurated on Wednesday jointly by Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Ramdev.

The yoga guru said his investment in Nepal would be an incremental one that would ultimately benefit the people of Nepal.

"We will not take away the profit to India that we will make here," Ramdev announced, adding "We will invest the profit in Nepal in order to spur more production and job opportunity."

Nepal imports various Patanjali products worth IRs 1 billion yearly from India.

"We want to reduce the dependency and are going to set up more ventures," he said, accompanied by his aide, Acharya Balkrishan and others.

Ramdev had interacted with office bearers of the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, an umbrella body of Nepali traders, businessmen and industrialists on Tuesday in Kathmandu.

While giving tips to the Nepali business community, Ramdev, who has millions of followers, advised them to first create a brand in order to sustain business.

"It took me 20 years to create and establish the Patanjali brand, for that I struggled a lot for over the years," he said.

The Bara unit will produce organic medicines and other products in Nepal, the first of its kind after India.

By using the local raw materials, the Patanjali Aryuved Udhog Gram aims to create a healthy, prosperous Nepal, he said.

Ramdev also called for political stability that alone he said can sustain an environment to do business.

The new Patanjali venture in Nepal would produce over 55 items initially and then gradually increase both volume of production and items.

Ramdev is also to conduct yoga session in Birgunj.

President Bhandari, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, President of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba, and others were invited to the camp.

Over 10,000 yoga trainers from Nepal and India assembled in Birgunj and have been preparing for a month for the event to be inaugurated by Bhandari.

Ramdev, who has created a business empire through various Aryuveda products, has over hundreds of outlets in Nepal that sell its products, which are widely popular.

Ramdev is also to meet Prime Minister Dahal, some ministers and members of the Nepali business community.

He would also travel to various Nepal districts exploring more business opportunities, he said.

(Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com)

--IANS

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