Depending on factors like good monsoon, high foreign direct investment inflows, low interest rates and positive sentiments, India may register a GDP growth of about 8 per cent in 2016-17, according to the projection of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The first woman chairperson of the CII northern region, Rumjhum Chatterjee said this while addressing the media in Dehradun on Wednesday.

Chatterjee, said, “India today is the world’s fastest growing economy projected to maintain its position in the global economy with robust growth projection of 7.8 per cent this fiscal year according to World Bank forecast.” Announcing the CII agenda for 2016-17, she said that CII NR will stress on six key aspects- building competitive north; ease of doing business, competitive small and medium enterprises, world-class infrastructure, sustainable agriculture growth,  sustainability and human resource development.

Earlier, a CII delegation headed by Chatterjee met CM Harish Rawat and Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh among others.

She re-affirmed the confederation’s commitment towards a strong engagement with the State Government in helping maintaining the pace of growth, investments and employment generation. She invited Uttarakhand to participate at Invest North 2016–a platform where the State can showcase the investment opportunities it offers to both domestic and international investors.

Appreciating the State’s initiatives on the Ease of Doing Business Reforms she said that “the implementation of these reforms, both in letter and spirit, will help the State make a quantum jump in its current Ease of Doing Business rankings, which in turn will help attract more investments and businesses”.

She also apprised Rawat of the development initiatives of CII in the mountains of Uttarakhand, which were launched post the 2013 natural disaster. The CII delegation also presented their recommendations on enhancing the industrial competitiveness of Uttarakhand.

She said that the confederation believes that these recommendations can help the State to continue to attract fresh investments as well as retain existing industry post the expiry of Government of India’s Concessional Industrial Package.

CII strongly recommends greater focus on areas where Uttarakhand enjoys significant competitive advantages - tourism, education, healthcare specially wellness and information technology, she added.   CII Uttarakhand chairman Suresh Redhu and CII Uttarakhand director Vibha Malhotra were also among those present on the occasion.