The Haryana Government has formulated an investor-friendly industrial and business promotion policy and attracted a foreign direct investment (FDI) of $ 73 billion during the year 2019-2020, becoming the fifth largest economy in the country, chief secretary Vijai Vardhan said on Thursday.
Representing India in the first meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Forum of Heads of Regions, which was hosted by Russia, Vijai Vardhan said that it was a matter of pride that he was representing India. He welcomed the initiative to organise this dialogue between the Area Heads of the member countries by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This forum will pave the way for better cooperation and coordination between member countries and regions, he added.
Encapsulating the salient features about the state he said that Haryana state covers only 2 per cent of India geographically and has a population of about 25 million, still it is the leading state in agriculture and industrial sector. The state is surrounded by New Delhi from three sides and three industrially developed cities of Gurugram, Faridabad, Rohtak are falling within the radius of 70 km from New Delhi International Airport. He further added that a new airport is being developed at a fast pace in Hisar district of Haryana as well.
Besides, the state has a rail network of more than 1,700 km and after the approval of the new Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) project by the Government of India in September 2020, the transport network in the state will be enhanced further. The state has a very well laid out road network, including more than 30 national Highways, 11 Expressways and State Highways.
Vijai Vardhan said that Haryana is one of the largest automobile hubs in the country and two-thirds of passenger cars, 50 per cent tractors and 60 per cent motorcycles of the country are manufactured here. Furthermore, Haryana is the ideal destination for auto companies and auto-component manufacturers. The state has also made its mark in the field of IT and biotechnology and is the third largest exporter in terms of software and is the preferred destination for IT / ITES facilities.
Elaborating more on IT, the Chief Secretary said that Gurugram district has emerged as a preferred destination for the IT industry with over 400 companies in the field of information technology (IT) in North India. Meanwhile, the state is also an educational hub. Speaking on it, he said that India’s first University for skill development for vocational education Shri Vishwakarma Kaushal University was established in Haryana. He said that Haryana has more than 60 universities, including universities dedicated to science and technology, health science, agriculture, veterinary science and performance and visual arts. The chief secretary said Haryana is one of the most preferred destinations for Research and Development (R & D) and the top companies in the world like Intel, Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Google have invested in the state. He said to streamline various issues pertaining to foreign cooperation the State Government has established a Department of Foreign Cooperation.
He said that there is immense potential for cooperation between Haryana and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries in the fields of trade and business, auto manufacturing, skill development, IT and ITES, agriculture and agro-based industries like food processing, health and animal science. He invited all Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries to Haryana. Other member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) also shared their views in the meeting.
