The State government will formulate a new industrial policy and it will be implemented on April 1.
Addressing a joint session of the two Houses of the State Legislature here on Wednesday, Governor H.R. Bhardwaj said that the new policy will ensure balanced and integrated industrialisation of the State. It will aim at upgrading the manufacturing sector and creating direct employment for about 10 lakh people over the next five years.
The Governor’s address to the two Houses is mandated by the Constitution and the head of the State presents his address at the beginning of the first session of a calendar year. The material for the address is, however, prepared by the government and ratified by the State Cabinet.
The Governor said that to create more employment opportunities and to project the State as a preferred destination for investors, a global investors meet will be held in October. To facilitate investors, they will be allowed to file applications and obtain all approvals and licences online. The State will be the first to launch “new age incubators” (to connect youth, ideas, funding and mentors) in tier-2 and tier-3 cities to exploit employment potential in the information technology sector.
He said that the State is set to launch new mobile services, covering nearly 250 government services on cellphones for the benefit of the common man. This will be part of e-governance and the government will establish Common Service Centres (CSC) and e-district programmes in all the gram panchayats to deliver government-to-citizen and business-to-citizen services.
Mr. Bhardwaj said that “to boost coastal tourism, my government has sent a proposal to the Union government seeking relaxation of the Coastal Regulation Zone guidelines. A mega coastal circuit project is being taken up with the assistance of the Centre. The government will also encourage corporates, as part of the social responsibility programme, to participate in an ‘adopt a tourist destination’ programme.”
Referring to food security for the poor, he said the “Padithara Khatri” scheme will be introduced in February to enable people to obtain their foodgrains within the first 10 days of the month. As many as 86.35 lakh below the poverty line cardholders have been covered under the Anna Bhagya scheme and another 11 lakh cardholders have been covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme.
The government, he said, has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs to strengthen, track and simplify governance.
