As part of the series of investor roadshows being held as a precursor to the Uttarakhand Wellness Summit 2020 slated to be held during April at Dehradun, the State’s Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj delivered the keynote address at a show held in Delhi on Wednesday. The State Government’s delegation is slated to head next to Kochi in Kerala to increase investors’ interest. Earlier, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had kicked off the roadshow in Mumbai on February 18.
Addressing the invited guests and the members of the media at the roadshow, Maharaj said, “It is a matter of pride for me and it gives me immense pleasure to represent Uttarakhand in this roadshow. Uttarakhand has, from time immemorial, been the top choice for ascetics and devotees who are in search of the divine. But now we are also focusing on developing the state as an industrial hub.”
He further added, "The primary objective of this roadshow is to shed light on the potential of developing Uttarakhand into a global spiritual economic zone, capitalising on the Global Wellness Economy, worth $4.2 trillion in 2017, growing at 6.4 per cent annually.
The Uttarakhand State Government will also be organising national and international roadshows, ambassadors’ round table meet in Rishikesh and a curtain-raiser event in Almora to promote the upcoming summit. The Wellness and AYUSH sector has been accorded the status of an industry in order to enable potential investors to avail incentives from the sector agnostic as well as sector-specific policies.
In order to enable ease of doing business, a single window clearance system has been established by the Investor Promotion and Facilitation Centre (IPFC), and a centralised one-stop-shop for investors and businesses has been set up to facilitate interaction with the Government of Uttarakhand for their investment needs,” he said.
A detailed presentation on Uttarakhand Wellness Summit was given by the State’s director general and commissioner of Industries, L Fanai.A detailed session covering the scope and scale of the wellness sector in Uttarakhand was presented by the Industries principal secretary Manisha Panwar to industry leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs.
In her presentation, Panwar apprised them of the abundant opportunities across subsectors pertaining to nutraceuticals, organic food, natural fibre, beauty products, wellness real estate and such other sectors.
In a presentation on tourism sector of Uttarakhand the Tourism secretary and UTDB CEO Dilip Jawalkar shed light on the integration of wellness tourism relating to the overall Uttarakhand tourism economy. He also apprised the gathering on the role that innovative initiatives such as AYUSH health centres/retreats, eco-tourism, aroma therapy/aroma tourism, Yoga wellness tourism will play in the coming years.
Delivering the concluding remarks, CII Uttarakhand state council vice chairman Ashok Windlass appreciated the state government for its initiative and expressed his confidence over the success of Uttarakhand Wellness Summit 2020. Apart from thanking chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, he also thanked Maharaj for revealing the roadmap for the growth and well-being of mountain state.