U’khand Investors Summit: Economy likely to get filip

DEHRADUN: Representatives of the country’s almost all top corporate groups and those from multinational companies besides delegates from Japan, Singapore and the Czech Republic will attend the two-day Uttarakhand Investors Summit to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dehradun on Sunday.

“The prime minister’s presence at the summit would help publicise the state as a prominent investment destination globally,” chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said on Saturday.

The summit will be the first such event in the state since its formation in 2000. In the past 18 years, the hill state’s economy is in doldrums. Consequently, almost all its hill districts and border areas have been emptying out owing to factors such as unremunerative agriculture, lack of basic infrastructures like schools, hospitals, bridges and connecting roads.

The Investors Summit is being seen as the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government’s desperate attempt to revive the state’s economy. Build-up for the event began a month ago with chief minister Rawat holding five road shows across the country besides meeting investors in Singapore and Thailand.

If the investors’ initial response is anything to go by the hype created around the summit seems to be bearing some results. Consequently, the BJP government is eyeing huge investments.

“So far, investment proposals worth ₹80,000 crore have been received. Out of these (proposals), memoranda of understanding for investments of more than ₹75,000 crore have been signed,” the chief minister said in an interview with Hindustan Times.

At a press briefing on Friday, he said investors have shown a keen interest in sectors such as agro and food processing, solar energy, health, tourism, infrastructure etc.