SRINAGAR: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has urged the Jammu and Kashmir Government to amend a circular restricting government printing assignments to government presses, saying the arrangement has left private printing units with idle machinery even as government facilities struggle to clear pending work.
In a communication to Shahid Kamili, Commissioner/Secretary, ARI and Trainings, FCIK Advisory Committee head Shahid Kamili sought an immediate review of Circular No. ARI-Adm/39/2026-01, issued on April 24, 2026. The circular requires government departments, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies and other institutions to route printing work exclusively through government presses in Jammu and Srinagar, permitting private participation only in exceptional cases with a No Objection Certificate.
FCIK has backed representations from Mukhmoor Gowhar, president of the Kashmir Printers’ Association, Srinagar, and Pankaj Sethi, president of the J&K Offset Printers’ Association, Jammu. The associations have highlighted the financial pressure on printing businesses that have invested in machinery, infrastructure and skilled staff, often using institutional loans.
The Federation cited a communication dated September 29, 2026, in which the Director, Government Press, J&K, informed the ARI and Trainings Department that a substantial volume of non-confidential printing and binding work had accumulated because of inadequate manpower. The director sought permission to outsource the assignments to registered private printers through competitive bidding on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
According to FCIK, the director also indicated that outsourcing could help clear the backlog and generate revenue 15 per cent above the prescribed target.
The Federation questioned the rationale for restricting private printing units when the government press itself had sought permission to engage them to handle pending assignments.
It also referred to an October 7 communication from the General Manager, Government Press, Srinagar, assuring a balanced proposal, and an October 12 communication from the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Kashmir, supporting a review of the procurement arrangement to enable private participation through competitive tendering, empanelment and fair allocation of work.
Kamili said government presses and private printing establishments should complement each other, with confidential and security-sensitive assignments retained by government facilities wherever necessary and routine work opened to eligible private units through transparent competition.
FCIK has sought amendments to the circular, competitive procurement through GeM and other prescribed mechanisms, transparent empanelment of local printing units, equitable distribution of assignments and early consideration of the outsourcing proposal submitted by the Director, Government Press.
The Federation has also endorsed the Kashmir Printers’ Association’s demand for proper verification of existing and functional certificates to ensure that the benefits meant for genuine printing manufacturers do not go to non-operational units, agents or trading concerns. It said verification should not create unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles for legitimate businesses.
“The government cannot encourage entrepreneurs to invest in machinery, create employment and avail bank finance on the one hand, while denying them access to established markets on the other,” Kamili said.
He argued that the arrangement was inconsistent with the government’s stated efforts to improve the ease of doing business, revive industry and generate employment.
Kamili said allowing government and private presses to share the workload would serve both industrial interests and the public interest, particularly when government facilities faced backlogs and private units had unused capacity.
FCIK urged the government to act on the recommendations already made by its departments, warning that continued exclusion from government assignments could push otherwise viable printing businesses into serious financial distress.
