On its last leg of ‘Momentum Jharkhand’ trip, the Government on Wednesday pitched for opportunities present in the field of smart cities, infrastructure building besides, information technology.
During its ‘road show’ in Hyderabad, MoUs were signed with Oracle for imparting IT–ITeS skills training through ‘Oracle Academy’ and also with Shree Cement potentially to attract Rs 600 crores of investment for a cement grinding unit.
Under the programme, Oracle will train the faculty of educational institutes under the ‘Train the Trainer’ model. Oracle will also provide the necessary teaching material and software to teach both the faculty and the students.
“The Government will assist institutes to develop and maintain the requisite infrastructure under the guidance of Oracle. This partnership is envisaged to increase the availability of IT human resources in the state and trigger technology enabled innovation, entrepreneurship and industrial growth,” said IT Department Secretary Sunil Barnwal.
Chairman and Managing Director of Oracle India Shailendra Kumar was also present on the occasion. He commended Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ approach on human resources front. “We have a lot of confidence in the Chief Minister’s ability and together we are going to create a state where citizens are empowered and the quality of life improves,” he said.
The Chief Minister, on his part, reiterated that while other states go after numbers, Jharkhand will not quantify it’s commitment in numbers but with action oriented leadership and handholding for investors by the administration.
Shree Cement’s Managing Director HS Bangur congratulated the Chief Minister for proactively reaching out the investors across India. He also expressed his experience with Jharkhand while appreciating the effectiveness of State’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ model for investment.
Earlier, detailed presentations were given by officials underlining the Government’s priorities and preparedness to absorb investments in areas such as energy, healthcare, urban development centered on a smart city vision, higher education and skills development.
“A total of 12.3 GW of additional capacity is intended to be installed by 2018-19, including over 2.6 GW from the renewable sources. Given Jharkhand’s resource abundance and the steadily improving macro-situation in the energy sector, the Government is confident of achieving the status of the country’s energy hub by 2019,” added the official.
The presentation before the investors also expressed keenness to set up super-speciality hospitals, medical colleges, food and drug testing laboratories, nursing colleges, paramedical institutes and other health services under PPP model fortified with well planned and focused incentives.
Ajoy Singh, Secretary, Higher & Technical Education, said, “Jharkhand has a population of 33 million, with over 40 per cent under the age of 14 years, and over 70 per cent under 35 years.
With promising demographic potential and a network of highly reputed education and research institutions, the industrial and socio-economic future of Jharkhand is bright. We intend to strengthen our reputation through investments in institutional development and capacity building, for which there is great demand.”
Chairman of JUSCO (Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company) Sunil Bhaskaran shared the smart city vision for capital Ranchi. “When it comes to states competing to realise a smart city, I believe Jharkhand is a winner. There are ample opportunities in the areas of infrastructure and real estate, health, education, housing and hospitality among others offer scope for big ticket investments,” he said.