Peace dividends: J&K got highest ever investment last financial year

500 startups come up in Jammu and Kashmir in last three years

With peace and normalcy returning, Jammu and Kashmir has finally started to reap its benefits with the union territory receiving investment of over Rs 1,547 crore from April 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023.

The investment during the last financial year is the highest ever compared to any of the previous financial years.

The Rs 1,547-crore investments in the last financial year includes Rs 500 crore of first Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the UT by EMAAR group, the makers of Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Total investment in the UT in 2018-19 prior to abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was Rs 590.97 crore, official figures reveal. Jammu and Kashmir also witnessed an economic growth of 14.64 per cent last year, while 31 per cent growth was recorded in tax revenue in the union territory (UT).

Also read | Number of militants at an all-time low in Jammu & Kashmir: DGP

A senior official of J&K Industries department said the government has already received investment proposals worth Rs 64,058 crore.

“As 2020 and 2021 were badly hit due to Covid pandemic, there was little progress on outside investment proposals getting translated on ground. However, 2022 was encouraging and we are sure that in the current financial year, there will be a record breaking investment in the UT,” he said.

In the last three years, a total of 500 startups have come up in Jammu and Kashmir which is an encouraging sign as more youth are coming forward to make entrepreneurship a career, the official added.

Jammu and Kashmir became subject to 890 central laws, while 250 state legislations were eliminated after the repeal of Article 370. Additional 130 state legislations were changed and such decisions eliminated certain hurdles which led to a conducive business atmosphere.