The Central Government has brought about a lot of constitutional changes in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir recently. Many businessmen are taking this occasion to think about prospective business opportunities in these regions. At the same time, an agency called CARE Ratings has analysed Jammu & Kashmir on various scales and submitted a report on the sectors that can be beneficial to invest in.
Industry Analysis
According to the report, the region has a special prominence for apple production; it holds a record of producing the major share of apples in the country, 77.7%, during 2017-18. Despite being the largest producer, there are harvest and post-harvest issues hindering the growth.
The region also includes numerous food processing units that supply FMCG products such as apple jam, apple juice, and apple cider. As of 2017-18, there are 176 registered food processing units and 28,089 unincorporated food processing units in Jammu & Kashmir. In addition, there is 1 mega food park, 2 abattoirs, and 2 cold chain projects under implementation as on 31 March 2019.
The total wool production in India does not match the requirement of the woollen industry. The woollen textiles and clothing industry seems to be smaller than the cotton and man-made fibre industry.
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The industry has the potential to provide employment to about 12 lakh people with an additional 20 lakh people in sheep rearing and farming sector. Also, the report mentions that 3.2 lakh weavers in the carpet sector will also be employed.
When it comes to the retail sector, consumer goods related sales is expected to get a boost with the development of various industries. Currently, the region has about 14-17 retail malls and shopping centres including all capacities.
However, there is a potential to increase the number of malls and shopping centres as the government has, now, allowed other states’ citizens to buy and sell land in J&K. This move is also expected to rise the real estate industry.
Apart from the above industries, hospitals, tourism and hospitality, automobiles, infrastructure, railways, aviation, roadways, ropeways, power, oil and gas, and other services also display the available bandwidth for business development.
Numerous opportunities are available in Jammu & Kashmir as the government has taken off Article 370 and Article 35A. The next step is to initiate and utilise the available business options that can contribute to uplift the country’s economy.
