New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a portal for the registration of units for industrial development in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The launch of this new portal under the 'New Central Sector Scheme 2021' will offer benefits of over Rs 24,000 crore to the industrial sector. This is just an estimate and this will go up in reality," he said.
Encouraging the industry leaders to invest in Jammu and Kashmir to help develop the Union Territory, Shah said that J&K has moved on the road of development and it is a matter of pride that what Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised about the development plans for the UT after the abrogation of the Articles 370 and 35-A, have been accomplished step by step.
Talking about the new industrial policy for J&K, the Home Minister further said that it has been formulated after evaluating the policies of the other states.
He also said that after 2019, the graph of development has shot up in J&K and a positive and conducive atmosphere has been created for industrial investment in the UT.
Shah said that the new industrial policy will not only pave the way for new setups, but also promote the ancillary industries there besides boosting the scope of tourism.
"A package of Rs 80,000 crore was sanctioned by the Narendra Modi government for Jammu and Kashmir for 54 projects. Seventeen projects have been completed, while works on the rest of the projects are under progress. The Centre has already released almost 96 per cent of the funds to the Jammu and Kashmir government," Shah said.
He also informed that the Centre has sanctioned seven medical colleges and five nursing colleges for J&K and the number of medico-seats have gone up to 900 from earlier 500 seats.
Referring to the many hydel projects in Jammu and Kashmir, he said this will not only increase the availability of electricity, but also earn revenues for the UT government.
During his address, Shah also said that a 624 MW hydel project at a cost of Rs 4,284 crore is under construction.
Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Jitendra Singh were also present for the launch of the portal.