The Associated Chamber of Commerce (Assocham) has suggested an eight-point agenda to encourage investment growth in the hill state.
The eight-point agenda released to FE here says that though Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country, the state had failed to tap the skilled manpower. The Himachal Pradesh government should give special focus to information technology (IT) and information technology-enabled services (ITes) in the state. It should encourage the major Indian and foreign IT companies to establish their centres and exploit the skilled manpower.
It has suggested that being ?a land of snowy mountains? the tourism sector is a big plus for HP. The Assocham suggests that the state should give special focus on this too.
The government should stress more on industrial development, set up special economic zones (SEZs) and biotech parks that will attract more FDI and domestic investment into the state. The Assocham recommendations talk of infrastructure development too and say that ?to be a favorite investment destination, better infrastructure with connectivity should be provided to the industrial units to improve their efficiency and productivity?.
The state has tremendous scope for adventure sports such as water rafting, mountaineering and trekking, para- and hand-gliding etc. It suggests that state government should provide special arrangements for domestic and international tourists to boost tourism revenue. The food processing industry in the state is a promising sector and Assocham advocates establishing and promoting food processing zones (FPZs) that will help generate rural employment.
Another recommendations say that the state should constitute a special body to promote textile and handicraft industries. These sectors would generate substantial revenue as well as employment for the state. To attract electronic units including computer software and engineering in Himachal, the industry body suggests that the state government provide special packages and incentives.