“Come as a visitor, stay as an investor”—that’s the message Uttaranchal has for Entrepreneurs. Uttaranchal is a safe and secure destination for investors, has a tourist-friendly environment, with a culture of ‘Athithi Devo Bhav’ or Guest is God.

The state is just 250 km away from the national capital New Delhi, has a high literacy rate of over 73 per cent and a population widely speaks and understands Hindi and English.

Dehradun as the ‘Knowledge Capital’ that boasts of many famous organisations like the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, FRI, IMA, DEAL, IRDE and IIP. Doon Valley is the nerve centre for quality education with institution like Doon School, Welhams and Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC).

Uttaranchal consists of 13 districts 7 in Garhwal and 6 in Kumaon. In Garhwal, districts are Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Pauri, Tehri, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Haridwar, while in Kumaon the districts are Nainital, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Almora, Udham Singh Nagar and Bageshwar

Major Trade Centers in Uttaranchal are Haldwani, Rudrapur, Roorkee, Tanakpur, Dehradun, Haridwar, Kotdwar, Rishikesh etc.

Uttaranchal exported goods worth Rs. 350 crore in 2004-05, from units primarily located in Dehradun, Nainital, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar which government plans to increase to Rs. 420 crore by the year 2009-10. During the year ended December 2005, loan disbursement in priority sector was Rs. 3447.95 crore, with agriculture and allied services accounting for Rs. 1147.03 crore and small scale industries and others Rs. 2300.92 crore.

Now the state of Uttaranchal has a sub-office of The Reserve Bank of India at Dehradun. The Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri N.D. Tiwari has inaugurated the office located at 97, Rajpur Road, Dehradun, on June 30, 2006.

Tourism Industry has been accorded the status of a thrust sector in the state.

Uttaranchal is a paradise for tourists and attracted about 65 lakh tourists in 2004-05. Mussoorie the “Queen of Hills”, Nainital the “Lake District”, Almora the “Switzerland of India”, and further Ranikhet, Pithoragarh, Pauri and Munshiari are few other places for nature lovers.

Mountaineering, Trekking, Skiing, Skating, Water Sports like rafting, boating and angling, Aero Sports like Hand Gliding, Paragliding are the attractions of adventure sports enthusiasts. The world famous Corbett National Park is the pride of Uttaranchal.

Chardham yatra is visited by Hindu pilgrims calling parikrama beginning with Yamunotri going on to Gangotri, Kedarnath and culminating the journey at Badrinath.

Conversion of land use being made admissible for hotels, motels, resorts, health spa, yoga, and meditation centre, tourist village entertainment, amusement park, water park, natural and botanical park to accelerate tourism growth in the state.

The Uttranchal government will provide free bandwidth up to two Mbps to all IT and ITeS Companies, call centres and BPO, among others for a year.

The State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttranchal (SIDCUL) is setting up a 65-acre state of the art software technology park at Dehradun.

An STPI earth station will be set up at Dehradun with a connectivity of up to 100 mbps.

Around 40 acres of the 65-acres IT Park at Shastradhara Road, Dehradun is saleable.

The Uttranchal government has taken initiatives to set up a world class bio-IT park on 500 acres of land abutting NH-87 (Rampur to Nainital) that would also house a bio incubator and engage of professional advisor to catalyse the park development based on a public private partnership model.

The government wants to make Uttaranchal the organic capital of India and has declared it an organic sate. A team of 20000 bio villages is being formed. A thousand hectares has been certified as organic as per international norms, more than 75 product ranges are available, and a dedicated agency provides a single window for forward link. The surplus production of horticulture and agriculture crops and large livestock population provide several opportunities.

Floriculture sector provided opportunities for corrugated packaging, bottle and can manufacturing establishing cold chain infrastructure, herbal pharmaceutical and cosmetics, and Basmati processing and storage facility.

An Integrated Industrial Estate is envisaged at Sitarganj, district Udham Singh Nagar, 300 km from Delhi, 80 km from Moradabad and 40 km from Rudrapur.

Nearest airport is at Pant Nagar which is being upgraded, ground and surface water is available in abundance, cheapest and uninterrupted power supply with hydro as source, skilled and semi skilled manpower easily available, surrounding areas offers sufficient opportunities for residential development.

New tourism units will be exempt from Luxury Tax for a period of five years from the date of commencement.

New ropeways installed in the state will be exempt from payment from Entertainment Tax for five years from the date of commencement,

New amusement parks set up will be exempt from Entertainment Tax for a period of five years from the date of becoming fully operational.

100% exemption from Entertainment Tax for all new multiplex projects in the state for a period of three years 100% Excise exemption for ten years.

100% Income Tax exemption for the first five years and a 30% exemption for the next five years.

Capital Investment Subsidy at the rate of 15% with a maximum of Rs. 30 lakh.

New approved hotel projects in one to three star and heritage categories will be provided one time capital grant of 10% of the total principal loan taken from designated financial institutions or up to Rs. 25 lakhs for one star, Rs. 50 lakhs for two stars and Rs. 75 lakhs for three star and heritage category projects.

Stamp Duty concession will be given to units located in IT parks.

Atlas Cycle Haryana Ltd. (Cycle), Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Ltd. (Processed snacks food), Samsung India Electronics Ltd. (Electronics), Mahindra and Mahindra, Vam Organics, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd. (Airconditioners), Dabur India Ltd. (Health and personal care products), Titan Industries Ltd., Hindustan Levers Ltd. (Cosmetics and toiletries), Alps Industries Ltd. (Natural dyed cotton), Global Auto Tech Pvt. Ltd (Auto parts).

CAs in project consultancy field may find Uttaranchal as destination for investors and by making further enquiries about relevant product, can assist their clients to start a venture there. Some examples of the areas for new ventures are as here below:

Tourism, Dairy, Agriculture and Medicinal plants, Horticulture, Floriculture, Sugar, Engineering goods, Handicrafts, Drawing and Survey instruments etc. are sectors with potential for high growth in exports.

Reputable institutions like IIT Roorkee and Doon schools can help Uttaranchal grow as India’s educational destination. There is a possibility to focus on developing training centres for telecom, health insurance and tourism.

Rapidly increasing manufacturing in cell phones and computer hardware should be tapped. Many Taiwanese companies want to set up shop in India, mainly because of its strategic location. Small and nimble, Uttaranchal can adjust to their needs.

IT enabled services are moving out of big cities to smaller ones, and this is a huge opportunity to be tapped. Nasscom’s new exam patterns for states like Uttaranchal will put the youth here at par with students of big cities.

The author is a member of the Institute. The views expressed herein are his personal views and do no necessarily represent the views of the Regional Council