Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri called on Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi and urged him to enhance the limit of Capital Investment Subsidy from present Rs. 30 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh.
Mukesh Agnihotri said that the Union Government had agreed in principal to sanction funding amounting to Rs. one hundred crore for six ASIDE projects of the State and added that the State Government had already submitted detailed project reports of all these projects. He thanked the Union Minister for sanctioning a sum of Rs. 15.15 crore for improvement and strengthening of road network from Ajouli to Santokhgarh and Tahliwal industrial area upto Laluwal and requested him to sanction a sum of Rs. 165 crore for various infrastructural development projects of the State.
He assured union minister that the State Government would provide suitable land for setting up Rs. 50 crore cost regional centre of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Shimla and added that it would largely benefit micro small and medium enterprises units in the State. He said that the State Government would also provide suitable land for setting up Spice Park at Nadaun and added that Agriculture University Palampur has agreed to transfer ten acre of land for the purpose. He said that issue of lease money between Spice Board and Agriculture University would be settled at the earliest in the larger public interest of the State.
Industries Minister requested the Union Minister to provide adequate funds for development of new industrial areas in Una, Shimla and Solan districts for facilitating the setting up new industries. He thanked the Union Minister for announcement regarding opening of regional centre of Tea Board at Palampur and regarding pilot project for coffee plantation in the State. He said that the State Government had already sent the proposal regarding the opening of vegetable packaging and processing centers at Solan and Nagrota Bagwan and told that suitable land for these centers would be selected soon. He thanked the Union Minister for grant of assistance for setting up Rs. 15.30 crore cost new juice concentration plant at Gumma and upgradation of existing plant at Parwanoo at the cost of Rs 12.40 crore.
Anand Sharma appreciated the issues raised by the State Government and told that the Union Government would take positive view of the issues in time bound manner.
