J&K Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam

TOP BUREAUCRATS from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), including the J&K chief secretary, will address business leaders in Mumbai on Friday as a part of the Jammu and Kashmir Global Investors Summit.

The summit, aimed at attracting investments, comes six months after the Centre diluted Section 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status enjoyed by erstwhile state of J&K and declared it a union territory. It will be held at south Mumbai hotel in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The summit is expected to include a special address by J&K Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam and would be attended by advisor to Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Kewal Kumar Sharma; Commissioner Secretary (industries and commerce) Manoj Kumar Dwivedi and Principal Secretary (planning and monitoring) Rohit Kansal.

According to a preliminary economic loss assessment report released by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in January, J&K’s economy had suffered a loss of Rs 17,878.18 crore between August 5, 2019 and December 3, 2019 — a period of unprecedented lockdown affecting trade and business.

The disruption had resulted in loss of lakhs of jobs with borrowers of financial institutions losing their capacity to fulfill their commitments, the KCCI had said. It had added that many business establishments had closed down or were contemplating closure and sectors directly dependent on Internet like information technology and e-commerce had taken a major hit.