The resource rich State of Jharkhand has an immense potential for investment due to its large mineral deposits, skilled labour force, and responsive administrative set up. It has a well-established industrial base comprising of reputed business houses. The State along with the adjoining areas of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, provides a large consumer market. Its renowned technical institutions are a constant source of qualified and efficient man-power base. All this shows that there exist innumerable investment opportunities in several sectors of the State economy.
Auto and White goods
This sector has several opportunities for investment due to the availability of raw materials at close proximity and a large consumer market for the product both in and around the State. These advantages include:-
- Presence of large steel plants as a source of easy freight;
- World class industries (in and around the State) create an excellent vendor base to support the sector;
- Several industries like Usha Martin, Timken, Cummins, Tinplate, Indal, etc. produce a wide range of engineering products;
- Various industrial units involved in activities like mining and coking coal;
- A good combined market for the sector is provided by Jharkhand along with Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh;
- Demand for white goods like refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc is high in the State and is rapidly increasing, etc.
Mineral based industry
The State being a rich reserve of mineral resources, it has an immense potential for the growth of mining and mineral based industries. The important minerals available in the State are coal, iron ore, limestone, copper ore, bauxite, pyrite, china clay, kyanite, fine clay, dolomite, graphite, bentonite, soap stone, quartz sand and silica sand. Given this, there are numerable opportunities for the investors, in the following areas:-
- Iron ore (export potential);
- Steel production;
- Sponge iron plant;
- Cement plant;
- Graphite electrodes and graphite powder;
- Granite (export Potential);
- Chemicals and fertilizers;
- Bleaching powder, calcium carbide and lime related chemicals;
- Ground mica, mica bricks and electrical appliances; etc.
The State Government has been making all efforts to attract investment into this industry. These include, simplification of the procedures with respect to grant of mining leases; provision of certain relief to make mining activities easier; suitable steps for adoption of state of art technology in mining; etc.
Power
The availability of coal in abundance makes Jharkhand an ideal state for setting up thermal power plants. The Government of Jharkhand has taken several initiatives for the development of this industry. It has signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India as a token of its commitment to the reforms in the power sector. Rural electrification has been accorded top priority. The work on renovation and modernization of existing power generating stations has already commenced. The State is attracting private investment in the industry for its further growth.
Tourism
The Jharkhand Government has accorded 'industry status' to the tourism sector and has initiated various steps to attract investment into it. For the purpose, it has been offering several incentives for the provision of certain tourist facilities by the private investors. This includes:- hotels & motels; yatrika & yatriniwas; tourist resorts; camps & facilities for adventure tourism; aerial ropeway; amusement parks; etc.
There are various places of tourist attraction in the State, which include:- Ichagarh Bird Sanctuary; Udhava Bird Sanctuary-Sahibganj (Pathara Lake); Chachro Crocodile Breeding Centre–Koderma (Tilaya Dam); Chandrapura Bird Sanctuary; Jawaharlal Nehru Zoological Garden (Bokaro); Tenughat Bird Sanctuary; Dalma Wild Life Sanctuary (Jamshedpur); Tata Steel Zoological Park (Jamshedpur); Palkote Wild Life Sanctuary (Gumla); Bhagwan Birsa Zoological Gardens (Ranchi); Birsa Deer Sanctuary (Kalmati Ranchi); Betla National Park (Palamau); Ranchi Aquarium (Ranchi) and Hazaribagh National Park; Tatoloi hot water stream (Dumka) and Saranda Forest. Besides, there are some famous temples like Jharkhand Dham; Langta Baba Temple/Majar; Bindhvashini Temple; etc.
Information Technology (IT)
The Government considers IT as an agent capable of transforming the State into a knowledge based society. It has resolved to make Jharkhand an IT powerhouse and a front runner in the IT revolution. In order to fulfil these objectives, it has formulated an IT policy. The underlying vision of the policy is 'to ensure overall socio-economic development, sustained growth, transparency in government decisions, and enhanced service delivery to the people through an effective use of IT".
The Government has also provided special incentives for the IT industry subject to the prescribed conditions. These include:- (i) exemption from environmental clearance; (ii) exemption from zoning regulations for purposes of location; (iii) self-certification for purposes of compliance with certain Acts; (iv) general permission to run a three-shift operation; (v) rebate in the cost of land allotted to an IT Industry subject to the prescribed conditions; etc.
Other Sectors
Investment potential also exists in the following industries:-
(i) In case of agro-based industries, opportunities exists in cattle feed; jute, hemp, sisal and other fabrics; tea cultivation, processing and packaging; paper; floriculture and horticulture.
(ii) In case of handlooms and handicrafts, export potential exists for the traditional products produced by the people of the State. The Government has been providing several incentives to boost this sector, in the form of infrastructural support, institutional support, training to weavers, supply of raw materials and equipments, marketing support, etc.
(iii) In case of khadi and village industries, the Government has accorded priority to the sector so as to promote a self-reliant rural economy. For this purpose, it has been making provision for training, financing and marketing support, etc.
(iv) In case of forest based industry, the Government plans to encourage R&D in order to increase the use of forest produce. The various forest produce available in the State are mahua seed, sal seed, shellac, bamboo, kendu leaf, harre, bahera, etc.
Project Profiles
^ Top
