– Minister for Industries & Commerce, Government of Rajasthan
In the recent Rajasthan budget each sector has been given adequate boost. A favourable environment has been created to enhance business and create a conducive environment for investment. Policies such as those of MSME, Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme, Mukhyamantri Laghu Udhyog Protsahan Yojana etc. have been given various incentives. Rajasthan was the first state to start to allow MSMEs to start business without any approvals up to 3 years. Taking another step further, the Chief Minister announced that they would not need approval for 5 years. This was stated by the Minister for Industries & Commerce, Government of Rajasthan, Mrs. Shakuntla Rawat. She was addressing as the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session of CII Rajasthan Annual Session and Conference on ‘Future Unfolding’.
The Minister further said that for MSMEs the interest subsidies of 8% on loan amount of upto Rs 25 lakh, 6 % on loan amount of 25 lakh to 5 crore and 5% on loan amount of 5 crore to 10 crore have also been granted. Furthermore, the One Stop Shop held on every first Thursday of the month has led to resolution of many pending problems and is thus reducing the time and cost for industrialists and enabling ease of doing business in the State.
While delivering the Special Address, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, Mrs. Usha Sharma said that Rajasthan has covered a long distance on the positive side despite various geographical odds. In fact, the limitations offer huge potential and have turned into huge investment opportunities. This can be gauged by the extensive use of solar and wind energy in the State. There are already 7 airports in the State and Air Cargo is being developed in Jaipur and Udaipur. The policies such as Tourism Policy, Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme, Rajasthan Film Tourism Promotion Policy, Handicrafts Policy, New Rajasthan Startup Policy 2022 etc. have created a fruitful and forward-looking environment for investment.
Chairman & Managing Director, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd & Chairman RRECL, Government of Rajasthan, Mr. Ashutosh AT Pednekar said that Rajasthan is the second fastest growing economy for the country. Energy plays an important role as far as industry is concerned as it is a big cost input. Rajasthan tops the list of states in the country where farmers and the agriculture sector, at large, are utilizing solar and renewable sources of energy. In fact, in Invest Rajsthan there was an investment of INR 10.5 Lakh Crore in renewable energy.
Chairperson, Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, Government of Rajasthan, Mr. Naveen Mahajan highlighted the delicate role of a regulator in ensuring environmental compliance. To bridge the gap between the industry and the regulator, the role of voluntary compliance comes into play. He also spoke about the new award scheme of the Board for induction furnaces and reheating furnaces to seek voluntary commitments for ensuring compliance of various environmental laws. He also spoke about sustainability as the way of life and promoting environment friendly practices such as recycling.
Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman, CII Rajasthan State Council, Mr. Gaurav Rungta set the theme for the conference. He said that the objective of the conference is to make industry future ready by adoption of futuristic practices like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Drone, Industry 4.0, Sustainability etc.
The Vote of Thanks on the occasion was proposed by Vice Chairman, CII Rajasthan State Council, Mr. Abhinav Banthia. Also present on the occasion were Regional Director, CII Northern Region, Mr Prashant AN and Senior Director & Head, Rajasthan CII, Mr. Nitin Gupta.
Later a plenary session themed on ‘Future of Industry: Mobility, Industry 4.0, EV, Artifical Intelligence, Fintech’ was also held. Mr Robert Mathis, Senior Partner, Mckinsey; Mr Prateek Rao, Founder & CEO , Zyngo EV Mobility Pvt Ltd; Mr Nitin Jain, Partner, PwC; Mr Smit Shah, President, Drone Federation of India also addressed during the sessions.