The ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising Commerce Week from September 20 to 26 across the country to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. To mark the occasion, the Ministry is organizing various events across the country to showcase the potential of the exporters and manufacturers.
The Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and Department of Industries, Government of Jharkhand, in collaboration with DGFT and Shellac & Forest Products EPC (Chefexil), organized a two-day commerce festival starting on Tuesday. The two day event aims at providing a platform to the industry players of Jharkhand to interact with policy makers and leading entrepreneurs under one roof.
Jitendra Kumar Singh, Director Industries, Government of Jharkhand, in his welcome note discussed the strength of Jharkhand, its rich flora and fauna, major producer of minerals, iron and coal, availability of skilled workers, attractive sector specific policies. Along with the industrial parks located in the state, he also highlighted the key provisions for export oriented units in the Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2021.
Singh said that today natural products have their own importance in life. In this respect, Jharkhand is a rich state as 40 per cent of the mineral wealth of the entire country is available in this State. Addressing the young entrepreneurs, he said that the state is rich in mineral wealth but there is a need to do value addition in it. The state is fortunate that raw material is at the doorstep, so there is immense potential for production. We have a skilled labour force so we can move towards export. He said that Jharkhand can become an export basket.
Dilip Soni, Chairman, SHEFEXIL talked about the state’s strength in mines and minerals, rich human resource and immense export potential.
Dr. Nitin Kulkarni, Director, Forest Productivity Institute informed about the forest coverage of Jharkhand at 29 per cent. He further highlighted the abundance of non-timber forest produce in the state of Jharkhand, i.e. shellac, gum and resins besides the need for processing various fruit bearing species readily available in the state. He talked about the immense opportunities in the bamboo sector besides exploring more areas.
K.K. Sharma, Director, Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums described Jharkhand as the second largest exporting state in the resins and gums sector. Lacquer from Jharkhand is being exported to more than 100 countries. He emphasized on increasing exports keeping in mind the sustainable development. He talked about the immense strength of Jharkhand in forest produce and lauded the government for announcing MSP for forest produce to ensure fair and good price for the produce.
Yashveer Singh, Economic Adviser, Government of India, began his address by highlighting the abundance of mainly forest products like lacquer, honey, resins and gum in Jharkhand. He emphasized on the value addition of the product at the global level mainly for the developed countries. He also talked about exploring opportunities during this difficult time of the pandemic. More than 100 entrepreneurs and industrialists from across the state and country participated in the event.