Belgaum industrialists propose Foundry Cluster in Chhattisgarh

The Belgaum industrialists have proposed to develop a Foundry Cluster in  Chhattisgarh which can attract sizeable amount of foundry units from other parts of the country, officials informed.

The proposal was made to a State-level delegation led by Chief Minister Raman Singh who attended the Industry Meet at Belgaum and connected with the industry association members on Monday.

The event was organized by Government of Chhattisgarh as a part of State’s outreach strategy. The event was attended by Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Karnataka Small Scale Industry Association, Belgaum District Small Scale Industry Association, Belgaum Foundry Cluster, and Indian Institute of Foundrymen.

 Basavaraj Javali, Vice President, Karnataka Small Scale Industry Association, Hemant Latte, Vice Chairman, Belgaum Foundry Cluster, Umesh Sharma, President, Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sudhir Uppin, Honorary Secretary of Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rohan Juvali, Vice President, Belgaum District Small Scale Association, and Sanchit Kittur, Chairman, Indian Institute of Foundrymen greeted and welcomed Singh.

 At the outset, Sunil Mishra, MD, CSIDC addressed the audience and explained the key differentiating factors of Chhattisgarh in terms of good governance, infrastructure, policies, incentives, and social and cultural indices of the State.

He also highlighted the Right to Skill Development program, where Chhattisgarh is the 2nd Government in the world to enforce this right by law.

 Adding to this, Mishra mentioned that the Government is keen on connecting people in rural area and developing their next generation. As a result, children from Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Sukuma area are now in the premium educational institutions.

Mishra later showcased State promotional video, and presented Industrial Policy of the State addressing numerous incentives, power tariff comparison, and labor wage details to the Belgaum Industry Associations.

After that, Belgaum Foundry Cluster briefly presented about their associations, number of foundry units and their way forward plans. Belgaum is the leading zone in terms of foundry sector where in it consists of more than 500 foundry units in to various products. Out of these, around 400 units are under SSI (Small Scale Industry Category) with an annual turnover of around Rs 3  to 5 Crore per unit.

Post their presentation, Chief Minister Raman Singh addressed the audience and congratulated the Belgaum industry associations for their contribution.

He described Chhattisgarh as a new and vibrant State which is going to be the infrastructure hub of the country. In terms of Ease of Doing Business, the State has retained 4th rank consecutively for 2015 and 2016 among 32 States, and Union Territories.

Singh also mentioned that the State has made specific cluster for priority sectors such as Engineering, IT &ITES, Electronics, Food Processing etc. Chhattisgarh is the mineral rich State with abundant availability of sponge iron, and other raw materials suitable for foundry units. Chhattisgarh is the most peaceful state with negligible violence, agitation etc. and no industry has ever stopped due to labor agitation or strike. Though there is a perception that Chhattisgarh is a backward state, in reality, it has moved far ahead of its time in terms of development and investment.

The Chief Minister touched upon states power surplus status with a capacity of 25000 MW, and is envisioning to have 35000 MW capacity by 2020.

 He invited the delegates to Raipur to have a feel of the State regarding its good governance, infrastructure and its investor friendly environment.

After his address, the delegates from associations introduced themselves and had a one-to-one discussion with the Chief Minister regarding facilities to be provided by the State. Their queries regarding power availability, land cost, labour wages were well addressed by the Chief Minister himself and he also assured proactive services from the Government side.

The industrialists after meeting the State delegation appreciated the initiative by the State Government and expressed their desire to invest in Chhattisgarh.