Jharkhand: An Upcoming Manufacturing Hub

Jharkhand, one of India’s newest states, was carved out of the southern portion of Bihar in 2000 with the centrally located city of Ranchi as its capital. Taking a proactive stance in attracting large scale investment for manufacturing world class facilities and realising the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Zero Defect-Zero Effect’ at each level of the value chain, Jharkhand has introduced Textile, Apparel and Footwear Policy 2016. The Government of Jharkhand understands that the Textiles, Apparel and Footwear industries play an important role in the economic growth of the State. These are recognised labour intensive industries and with this vibrant policy, Jharkhand will be able to provide employment to its people, who otherwise tend to migrate to other places in search of jobs. Introduction of this new policy in Jharkhand will not only augment employment in the State, but also lead to greater skill development and capacity building.

Advantages of Investing in Jharkhand

Jharkhand is a land locked territory bound by the state of Bihar to the north, West Bengal to the East, Orissa to the South and Chhattisgarh to the West. With no port of its own, Jharkhand’s proximity to the ports of Kolkata (400 km from Ranchi), Haldia (420 km from Ranchi) and Paradeep (560 km from Ranchi), enhances the State’s geographic location from an infrastructural standpoint, thereby making it an attractive proposition for Export Oriented Units (EOUs). EOUs will be able to enter the emerging markets of South East Asia given the advantage of safe, smooth and faster movement of their products. Moreover, Jharkhand also has a dry port facility at India’s steel city, Jamshedpur.

Jharkhand is progressing at a fast clip in adopting best practices for creating an investor-friendly environment in the state to facilitate investments, employment generation and welfare of the people. Measures like Jharkhand Investment Promotion Board, single window clearance, online payments, online verification, third party certifications, self- certification, time-bound approvals, ready generation and availability of information online, standard operating procedures for approvals, deemed approvals, etc., are being adopted by various departments and government agencies.

The government has also proposed to extend 24/7 customs clearance facility at 13 airports and 14 seaports resulting in faster clearance of import and export cargo.