Registration for the ambitious industrial development scheme for development of Jammu & Kashmir with a financial outlay of ₹28,400 crore was opened on Tuesday with the launch of the online portal by Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

“It’s a new dawn for investment & business development in J&K...investment of more than ₹50,000 crore is now expected to take place in J&K,” Shah said while launching the portal under the ‘New Central Sector Scheme 2021’. The scheme is open for any eligible manufacturing entity or eligible service sector enterprise registered business enterprise under Goods and Service Tax (GST), according to an official statement.

It is expected that the UT of J&K will have an additional investment about ₹12,000 crore in establishment of about 1,200 industrial units.

Ease of doing business

Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who was also at the launch of the portal, said this mechanism would further improve ease of doing business and bring all round transparency.

“This is a scheme based on trust. We have done away with most of the paperwork needed for registration under the true spirit of ease of doing business,” an official close to the development told BusinessLine.

The entire process under the scheme i.e. applying for registration, submitting claims and their processing within the department, is through the portal deliberately done to avoid human interface.

GST-linked incentives

The scheme includes four types of incentives. These are capital investment incentive, capital interest subvention, GST-linked incentive and working capital interest subvention.

The quantum of assistance under the scheme is greater than earlier ones as the ‘GST-linked incentive component’ provides for a maximum of three times of investment made in plant and machinery in addition to the other components of the scheme, the release pointed out.

The scheme is anticipated to generate direct employment opportunity for about 78,000 persons including in primary sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, animal husbandry & dairy and inland fisheries through backward linkage including gainful engagement of women at household in craft, handicraft and handloom, the statement said.

Employment of about 35,000 persons already working in existing units is likely to be indirectly supported by the scheme through its working capital interest subvention component, the statement said.