Calls for reforms to boost J&K industry, urges streamlined approvals, local procurement priorities, effective revival measures
SRINAGAR: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has welcomed the Government’s decision to constitute a three-member committee under the chairmanship of Financial Commissioner (ACS) Finance Shailender Kumar, with Commissioner/Secretary Industries & Commerce Vikramjeet Singh and Managing Director & CEO J&K Bank Amitava Chatterjee as members, to draft a comprehensive Industrial Policy for government approval that addresses the needs of the industrial sector and benefits both existing and new industrial units.
The decision was announced by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo at the conclusion of a Stakeholders’ Conference held under his chairmanship in Jammu. The conference was attended by senior administrative heads, Managing Director J&K Bank, Director General Fire & Emergency Services, Chairman Pollution Control Committee and other departmental heads, besides presidents of various business chambers from across Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Secretary also directed the committee to prioritize finalisation of the Public Procurement Policy, the Revival and Rehabilitation Policy for sick industrial units, and other policies requiring urgent attention.
The meeting began with a presentation by Commissioner/Secretary Industries & Commerce outlining initiatives taken under the first phase of Ease of Doing Business reforms and proposed measures for the second phase. He also presented the proposed amendments to the Industrial Policy 2021-30. Several administrative heads supplemented the presentation by highlighting steps taken by their departments to facilitate ease of doing business.
During the interaction, FCIK expressed serious concern over the lack of inter-departmental and intra-departmental cohesion between the Industries & Commerce Department and other regulatory departments, which continues to create severe operational difficulties for industrial units. The Federation pointed out that even simple clarifications on routine matters often take months, leaving industry entangled in avoidable delays and uncertainty.
FCIK demanded that unnecessary conditionalties imposed even on routine approvals—often accompanied by demands for additional payments—be abolished and that approvals should largely be granted on the basis of self-certification to genuinely facilitate ease of doing business.
The Federation also emphasized the crucial role of District Industries Centres (DICs) and called for restoration of their powers as envisaged under the MSMED Act so that they can function as effective single-point facilitators for industrial units.
FCIK made it clear that the upcoming Industrial Policy must first ensure “ease of living” for industry before ease of doing business, noting that persistent regulatory and administrative bottlenecks have made survival difficult for many units.
The Federation informed the meeting that during the past five to six years, local industry was largely excluded from public procurements despite the Government undertaking capital purchases worth over ₹1 lakh crore. In this context, FCIK stressed the urgent launch of the Public Procurement Policy, the draft of which has been pending for over a year, and reiterated its three-pronged proposal: procurement of identified items through SICOP, purchase preference for local industry in government tenders, and strengthening the local filter on the GeM portal.
FCIK also highlighted the pressing issue of revival and rehabilitation of sick industrial units, expressing dismay that despite a rehabilitation mechanism in the Industrial Policy, it has not been implemented effectively. Instead, banks have continued to publicly name and shame MSME defaulters, with auction notices now even being pasted on mosque walls and in marketplaces.
The Federation stated that the policy document submitted by FCIK—prepared after extensive grassroots consultations and careful assessment of industry needs—provides a realistic framework for industrial revival and growth. The document emphasises that industry does not seek complicated incentive structures involving cumbersome compliances, but rather cost equalizers that operate transparently without human interface.
FCIK further suggested that the Government should first determine the quantum of financial support it can realistically extend to industry annually. The first priority should be to neutralize the multiple regulatory fees and charges imposed by different departments to reduce the cost burden on industry. The remaining support, it suggested, could be structured in the form of interest subvention, reimbursement linked to GST value addition, labour-linked EPF and ESI contributions, and incentives for green technologies such as solarization.
The Federation proposed that such incentives be structured so that financial support is released directly to banks or concerned departments through an automated mechanism, ensuring minimal or no human interface and enabling transparent and timely delivery of benefits.
FCIK also strongly advocated restructuring of viable industrial units and providing an honourable exit from legacy debt for distressed enterprises through the immediate launch of a non-discriminatory and non-discretionary Special One-Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme. Until such a scheme is introduced, the Federation demanded a moratorium on all bank actions under the SARFAESI Act.