Jharkhand set to get rural industry policy: CM

RANCHI: Chief minister Raghubar Das on Thursday said that his government will soon come up with a rural industry policy to tap into and explore opportunities for village and cottage industries in the state and link them with national and global markets.


At a meeting with Paul Thomas, managing director of ESAF Small Finance Bank, at his residence on Thursday morning, Das said, "Rural areas of Jharkhand are home to various things, ranging from artwork to minor forest produces, that remain untapped despite their immense potential.

The government will soon come up with a rural industry policy," Das told ESAF representatives, appealing them to come on board for setting up of knowledge and value chain enhancement-based entities in villages. Officials of the state industries department also attended the meeting.

Das said, "Santhal Pargana is rich in bamboo cultivation and artefacts made of bamboo. Similarly, Kolhan region is rich in traditional artefacts and cultivation of dates, among others. All that is required is to create an organised ecosystem to bring producers, marketers and buyers together to set the ball rolling."

Talking to TOI, state industries department secretary K Ravi Kumar said that a first draft of the proposed Jharkhand Rural Industry Policy has already been prepared but is being modified before it is taken to the cabinet.

Giving a brief outline of the proposed policy, Kumar said, "Remote pockets of Jharkhand have a certain trade that is practised traditionally. The policy will aim to woo area and trade-specific investments for skilling local artisans, setting up of value chain, packaging those products and market linkage. A host of incentives are being proposed to attract the setting up of segment-based industries in non-industrial pockets of the state. The draft is in the stage of finalisation and, if all goes well, it should be ready to be placed before the cabinet in another two weeks."

The state government took the first step in this regard by hosting the maiden international bamboo conclave in Dumka last month. The state industries department officials said they received an overwhelming response as industry players from both within and outside the country attended the event and promised to join hands with the state.