Gone are the days when Uttarakhand was just known as a tourist destination or a religious centre. Over the last one decade of its inception, the state has been gradually taking long strides towards becoming an ideal industrial destination as well. Ideal because of the conducive industrial, labour, social and administrative environment that has been created over all these years. Known for its peace loving people and warmth in hospitality, the region opened its arms to embrace the entrepreneurs from the rest of the country and even collaborators from abroad to be participants in the long march ahead on the path of development. The march has been inclusive in nature with everyone from the villager in the remote snow clad parts of the state to the top level official and the entrepreneur being an equal partner in the endeavor. The efforts undertaken together in the last decade have proved various myths about the possibility of industrial development in the region as futile. Not only has the industry sprouted here in the forms of different hubs, it has also excelled in terms of growth. The economic, social and emotional investments of the entrepreneurs has given them good dividends and the state can now proudly claim its place on the industrial map of India.
The growth of the state as a major educational and industrial hub has worked wonders as the two sectors have been acting as ideal characters complementary to each other. The industry on one side has been happy to recruit an ideally educated and professionally trained manpower in the different units thus providing ample scope of growth and employment to the local populace. On the other hand the educational institutions have mushroomed with the confidence that there is ample scope for their students in the widening employment opportunities being offered by the industry here. Gone are the days when the youth of the state had to meander along with the rivers to the plains to find their destination.
Uttarakhand as a state has lots to offer to the industry while playing a perfect host. The policy instruments in the offing are ideal for an entrepreneur to set shop here. The government has been moving towards providing single window clearances, information and facilitation. The district and state centres of State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand (SIDCUL) are there to provide all that an entrepreneur can ask for.
It is amidst such an ideal environment that the KGCCI has been playing a pivotal role in promoting the industry and the interests of the state as well as its people. Under the leadership of its ideal President Darbara Singh, the Chamber has been taking one stride after the other to make Uttarakhand the most happening industrial destination in the country. The KGCCI is a prestigious forum representing the interests of the industrialists in the youthful state of Uttarakhand. Since the inception of the state a mere decade back, the KGCCI has been amongst the pioneers of industrial growth drawing the industrial map in a state which was otherwise known for its tourism and agriculture potential.
Origin of KGCCI has been an outcome of a thought of a few dynamic entrepreneurs who wanted an organization to look after the interests of mercantile community. The new born state of Uttarakhand was then a tiny part of Uttar Pradesh where geographical, climatic and cultural environment was different from rest of the State.
KGCCI was established in the year 1988 and its office was located on the premises of Jindal Solvent Extraction, Kashipur. In 1997, it was shifted to rented office space at Old Anaj Mandi. The office is now situated in the Industrial Estate, Bazpur Road, Kashipur, Distt. Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) in self owned premises named CHAMBER HOUSE, since the year 1999. The erstwhile Hon?ble Chief Minister of the State Shri Narayan Dutt Tiwari inaugurated the CHAMBER HOUSE. The construction of a new building with appealing grandeur was inaungurated on March 30, 2006 by Hon?ble Minister, Health & Family Welfare, Uttarakhand State, Mr. Tilak Raj Behar.
Darbara Singh says, ?The KGCCI with a crystal clear vision for betterment of industries of various shades is now taking a grant shape with gradually increasing its membership till date to 350.? It has a considerable No. of industrial units in the Large Scale segment. Kashi Vishwanath Steels, SAM Cables & Conductors Pvt. Ltd., India Glycols Ltd. Century Pulp & Paper, Surya Roshni Ltd., Ester Industries Ltd., Khatema Fibres Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt. Ltd., Acme Telepower Ltd., Aurangabad Electricals Ltd., Endurance Technologies (P) Ltd., Sidharth Papers Ltd., Naini Papers Ltd., Prolific Papers Ltd., SRF Ltd., Polyplex Corporation Ltd., Pasupati Acrylon Ltd., Rudrapur Solvents, Steel Engineers, Britannia Industries Ltd., Parle Biscuits Pvt. Ltd., Bhaskar Energy Ltd., Escorts Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Dabur India Ltd., HCL Infosystems Ltd., G. S. Pharmbutors, BHEL, H P India Sales Pvt. Ltd., Techno Electronics Ltd., Shri Ram Foundry Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., The Malt Co. India Ltd., Shirdi Industries Ltd., BOC India Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd., Innovative Textiles Pvt. Ltd., The Paper Products Ltd., Flexituff International Ltd., Sansera Engineering (P) Ltd., Varroc Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Sundram Fasteners Ltd., Greenply Ltd., Packaging India (P) Ltd. are some prestigious industries to name.
?Over the years, the KGCCI has gradually come out of the shadows to emerge as a forum of interaction between the industry and officialdom. It provides a platform to industry and commerce of Uttarakhand forinteraction with the government officials of the State and Centre. For varied issues and interests industries, expert committees have been formed for specialized advice on different subjects, to name a few, company laws, taxations, finance and banking, custom & excise, conventional and non-conventional electricity, labour laws & human relations development etc.,? asserts Darbara Singh. KGCCI has gained doubtless impeccable credentials over all these years. As a member of the several commissions, committees and councils it has active participation keeping in view the interests of industry and trade of the State.