J&K Investors' Summit postponed to 2020 after preparedness review

Srinagar: The investors' summit, which was scheduled to take place in Jammu and Kashmir from October 12-14, 2019, has been postponed to 2020. The development comes after the State Administrative Council (SAC) which met under the chairmanship of Governor, Satya Pal Malik reviewed the preparedness for holding the summit and after taking note of the level of preparedness decided that it should be rescheduled to 2020 in consultation with the union government.

The move is to ensure that the Industries and Commerce (I&C) Department is given reasonable time for making necessary preparations to secure robust participation of the investors in the summit.

The investor's summit was part of government's initiative to boost investment opportunities, attract new business avenues and allow Jammu and Kashmir to showcase its strength and potential to potential investors.

The announcement had come after the central government took away the special status granted to the former state of Jammu and Kashmir by revoking Article 370 of the Constitution. Among the reasons cited was that the provision had restricted the state's industrial growth and development.

The SAC, on Thursday, said that new dates for holding the investors' summit will be finalised in consultation with the government keeping in view the policy work completion, logistics including schedule of roadshows, climatic conditions, the schedule of Parliament for both Winter and Budget Sessions, major national and international events and, festivals among others.

A detailed presentation on the preparedness for the summit was made before the SAC by Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department. It was informed that the initial preparatory work has been completed.

SAC was also informed that the schedule for organising roadshows across major cities has been drawn up. All the roadshows will be organized as separate events periodically to give the I&C department more time to plan with the possible investors to secure their participation.

Accordingly, it was decided that the schedule of the roadshows need to be reworked. SAC has directed the I&C department to continue the preparation work in full swing and take all required measures to make the event a success. The SAC also directed that consultation with various Union Ministries be completed at the earliest for policy framework revision. It also directed the department to revisit all existing policies and fill the policy gaps pertaining to various sectors and complete the same by October.