Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri today said the most formidable challenge before his natural resource-rich state was to repay a debt of Rs 16,000 crore.

“A cause for concern is that, by 2011-12, interest paid on the debt will be to the tune of Rs 2,500 to 3,000 crore while the state’s annual plan is itself Rs 4,000 crore,” he told mediapersons.

Maj-Gen Khanduri is attending the Bharatiya Janata Party’s three-day National Executive meet that concludes here today.

The Chief Minister, who assumed Uttarakhand’s reins this March, claimed that despite the circumstances his BJP government launched a campaign for bringing the state’s economy back on track.

“Central assistance will also be sought for development. For making the economy robust and generating additional finances, 10 to 15,000 MW power will be generated. Attempts are being made to prevent smuggling of rare herbs and illegal mining. These attempts will lead to earning of about Rs 2,000 crore revenue,” Maj-Gen Khanduri added.

Instead of mammoth power projects, minor projects of maximum 400 MW capacity would be accorded importance, he said while adding that he did not favour mega projects as they took too much time.

I will explore the possibilities of seeking aid from international financial institutions and adequate utilisation of our natural resources from the scientific and environmental viewpoints.

Austerity measures are being strictly implemented and illegal deforestation stringently checked,” he explained.

While highlighting achievements over the past six months, the Chief Minister alleged that corruption reached its limit during the predecessor Congress regime’s tenure. The BJP prepared a list of about 50 scams prior to the Assembly polls. They were under investigation and several illegal appointments cancelled.

The steps to buttress the economy are already showing results.

“The administration has been made active and sensitive,” he added.

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Wipro plans to set up its second computer and server manufacturing facility in north India with an initial capacity of 2.5 lakh units per annum. The company, which is eyeing tax-friendly destinations such as Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, is looking at finalising the location in less than two months.

The company’s capacity expansion plan stems from 50 per cent year-on-year growth in shipments in fiscal 2006-07 and the overall buoyancy in the PC market in India which is growing at about 20 per cent. Wipro vice-president personal computing division Ashutosh Vaidya said, “We will soon run out of capacity in our Pondicherry facility.”

Wipro’s existing facility in Puducherry, a location that enjoys tax incentives too, is based on a 10-acre land area and has a total capacity of manufacturing 2.5 lakh pieces per annum.

The company, more widely known as an IT services major, sold 1.5 lakh pieces in 2006-07, registering a 50 per cent growth. It is understood that Wipro’s second plant will be a modular facility which offers tremendous scope of scaling up capacities to up to 1 million pieces per annum in the long term.

The personal computing division’s top customers range from HDFC Bank, Reliance to Assam government to Rajasthan treasury to its own group companies. It has sold up to 30,000 pieces within the group’s various divisions.

According to analysts tracking the IT sector, the company may be looking at options such as contract manufacturing, given its huge capacity expansion plan. Investment figures on Wipro’s capacity expansion plans are not known yet. Dell, which sold 50,000 desktops in Q1 in India, has committed $60 million investment in its facility in Sriperumbudur in Chennai. Dell will spend $30 million in the first five years.

According to Gartner principal analyst (computing) Diptarup Chakraborti, the total PC shipments for calendar year 2006 was 7.59 million. In the first six months of 2007, the notebook market has grown 74 per cent and desktops have grown 3.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2006. Wipro has sold 73,900 desktops and 4,044 notebooks in the January-June period, 2007.

The company’s personal computing division, which is part of Wipro Infotech, essentially caters to the enterprise segment and has negligible presence in the home segment unlike other PC rivals like HP, HCL, Acer, Lenovo and Dell.

Vaidya said that the company will continue with its strategy of pushing sales in the enterprise segment. The company’s model operates on offering project management services to enterprises.

It has initiated product and service innovations to cater to the business segment. For instance, it has launched Protos range of desktops which its claims consumes up to 25 per cent less power compared to a conventional desktop or the Supernova which is a cluster based supercomputer.

News Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Uttarakhand government on Friday invited industries to take advantage of special packages and set up their small units in the hilly area of the state.

“The government is providing incentives to the industries to provide employment opportunities to people in the state. I urge you to set up small eco-friendly units in the hills also,” Chief Minister B C Khanduri said at a function here.

Uttarakhand has received an investment of Rs 26,000 crores so far in the wake of special industrial package and nearly 800 industrial units in the state have started their production with an investment of Rs 4000 crores, Khanduri said.

The chief minister further said 1633 new proposals have come to Uttarakhand from different industrial houses during the past four months and an investment of Rs 300 crores is being proposed through these new proposals.

In the wake of criticism that the industries were not being set up in the hills, Khanduri said environmental-friendly units would be set up in the mountainous region of Garhwal and Kumaon. An action plan has been prepared to promote village industries, agriculture-based units, cottage industries in the hills, he said adding Rs 6.25 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.

He said the government has already held consultations with top representatives of CII, industries association of Uttarakhand, Kumaon-Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, PHDCCI, Uttarakhand Industrial Welfare Association, Indian industries association in this regard.

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The Planning Commission fixed the annual plan for Uttarakhand at Rs 4,378.63 crore, including an additional central assistance of Rs 275 crore.

The Plan for 2007-08 was fixed at a meeting between Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and state Chief Minister B C Khanduri here, an official release said.

Ahluwalia complimented the state for its performance during the 10th plan period but asked it to lay more emphasis on infrastructure development for high industrial growth.

He said the hilly state should integrate science and technology in development programmes, encourage tourism, strengthen rural health institutions and reduce poverty.

Khanduri said his government has imposed a strict discipline in public expenses as the state was reeling under debt. He said the focus would be on reducing fiscal and revenue deficits and optimising utilisation of land resources.

Of the money granted under additional central assistance, Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for developing infrastructure for Kumbh Mela at Haridwar and the South Asian winter games, it added.

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The new tourism minister for Uttarakhand, Prakash Pant, has identified a two-pronged strategy to promote the state. To begin with, the state government has divided the tourist inflow into two segments – up-market and the mid market segments where the former not only includes the rich but also those with lack of time. It will accordingly promote its packages and products separately to these two segments.

As part of its strategy, the government has strategically decided to separate pilgrim tourism from the rest. According to Pant, the ministry wants tourism to drive the state’s economy. “We think it sensible to bifurcate the products because if we offer a product mix, chances are that individual products will lose their essence and exclusivity when offered to the tourist. That is why we chose to separate our pilgrim tourism, which we consider to be our strong point.”

The state believes that health tourism is its inherited attraction. To promote adventure tourism, the state is planning to develop artificial water skiing, besides looking at hosting the South Asian Federation Games. It is also looking at reviving the heritage rail tracks between Haridwar and Rishikesh. “We are planning to start a rail service between these two pilgrim destinations. Right now, we are working on the logistics,” the minister said. The state government is also pushing its air connectivity issues with the central government and planning to moot a mini hotel policy on the accommodation front.

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The Kotshwar Plant being set up by the THDC in Tehri Garhwal District of Uttaranchal has an installed capacity of 400 mw, out of which Delhi’s allocation is 40 mw.

The plant is expected to be commissioned by 2009.

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“The project, which is a first of its kind in Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) globally, will support the state and sector-wide common policies and institutional arrangements for improving service delivery,” said an official press release.

Representatives of the Uttaranchal government, the central government and World Bank South Asian acting Regional Vice-President Rachid Benmessaoud signed the agreements on Monday.

The Uttaranchal Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project aims to upgrade areas with no or partial coverage of water supply to full coverage, benefiting at least 1.2 million people, or 20 percent of the rural population. The project will also improve sanitation in about 30 percent of rural communities.

Uttaranchal has a population of 8.48 million, of which 75 percent live in the rural areas. Only half the state is estimated to be fully covered with functioning water supply schemes.

The state also faces severe water shortage. Many villagers are forced to spend several hours collecting water for domestic use.

This project will generate sustainable access to water and sanitation services, which in turn will help reduce water-borne diseases in underserved rural areas, the release said.

The Uttaranchal government has prioritised rural water supply and sanitation as a key area of its development agenda in its 10th Plan (2003 -07). It envisages universal coverage of safe and potable water and sanitation by 2012.

The credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, carries a 0.75 service fee, a 10-year grace period, and a maturity of 35 years, the statement said.

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