SRINAGAR: Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) sought immediate marketing support to the industry of Kashmir with Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce, and Industries to save it from collapse.
The FCIK delegation was led by its President Shahid Kamili during the interaction with the Union Minister and was attended by Union Development Commissioner Handicrafts, Shantmanu, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Ranjan P Thakur, Commissioner Secretary FCS&CA, Zubair Ahmad, DDC Chairman Anantnag, DC Anantnag.
President Kamili informed the Minister that allowing of local purchases from the Government e-Market portal in J&K without any rider for outside industries has proved disastrous for the already ailing industry of Kashmir.
“The cost of production has gone beyond selling price of other states. The industry is facing open competition with the rest of country whose working conditions, working hours are much better, availability of cheap raw material and business ecosystem is favorable, “he informed the Union Minister.
FCIK while appreciating the PM package of Rs 28400 crore for new industry demanded that the package should first be applied to present ailing industry which is on brink of closure.
Saying that rising power tariff is taking a heavy toll on the financial health of Kashmir Industry, Shahid Kamili suggested the Union Minister to provide solar power energy setup to MSME units to overcome power shortage and lessen the production cost of products.
He also stressed on framing a high power committee to analyze the failure & losses of industry in Kashmir since 2010, hit by floods in 2014 and other continuous disruptions by different events besides two Covid waves which wreaked havoc on the world economy and Kashmir is no exception.
Highlighting the importance of risk management for the business sector of Kashmir, FCIK President demanded insurance against business losses due to unavoidable circumstances to create a sense of security about present investments and confidence for future investments too.
“Govt needs to provide a robust package for the security of investments in view of mounting losses to present investors,” he informed the Minister.
The Minister was apprised of the alarming situation in the MSME sector and the much-needed intervention to save around 85% units from closure by ending March 2022.
Shahid Kamili also demanded a Provident Fund waiver to the unitholders who are not in a position to pay it to the employees who have left in large numbers at this juncture.
Union Minister assured the FCIK delegation of all possible support from the central government for the promotion of local industries.
