Madhya Pradesh Assembly Polls: ASSOCHAM-Jabalpur Chamber agenda to political parties for their manifestos

NEW DELHI: While all political parties participating in upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh (MP) are working on their respective manifestos, apex industry body ASSOCHAM and Jabalpur Chamber have advocated them to focus on sustainability in farm sector, support to revive sick small-scale industries for creating more jobs.nnThe Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Jabalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) have jointly drafted a paper on ?Industry agenda to political parties in MP for inclusion in election manifestos.?nnThe paper was jointly released by ASSOCHAM secretary general,D.S. Rawat and Mr. Himanshu Khare, Sr. Vice President, Jabalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) here.nnThe paper which has been submitted to all political parties in fray in MP elections has made a strong pitch for promoting research and development (R&D), adoption of modern techniques, investing in post-harvest and marketing tools and made other relevant suggestions that would go a long way in helping growers plan their sowing in a manner that ensures price stability to end farmers? woes.nnWith almost 70 per cent of the overall population dependent on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood, it makes it all the more important for the state to intensify growth in this sector by linking crop intensity, water harvesting and community farming related programmes.nnEffective implementation of investment projects in the irrigation sector, developing canal facility aimed at reducing cost of production and environment protection, promotion of organic farming, creation of new agro markets along with certification centres and specialised training to farmers under public-private partnership (PPP) mode are key suggestions in this regard.nnJob creation especially in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by providing them financial incentives like tax relief, grants and other such measures should be the other core focus area which must be given prominence by political parties in their election manifestos.nn?Meeting employment expectations of the youth is imperative and this can be achieved by encouraging private sector investments as government alone cannot foster job creation through its schemes,? said the ASSOCHAM-JCCI joint paper.nnPromoting ease of doing business through land reforms, reviving traditional handloom, handicrafts and coir industries, technology upgradation, cluster development, translating investment intentions into formal proposals and their subsequent implementation are significant suggestions for growth of industry sector in MP.nnBesides, ecosystem must be developed for rapidly growing innovation driven by young and tech-savvy entrepreneurs as it would help strengthen the state in information communication technology (ICT) sector.nnTourism sector can also make significant contributions to MP?s economy as such the state must promote wild-life/adventure/religious/eco-tourism concepts on a bigger scale and conduct road shows, fairs, festivals to showcase the state?s heritage and cultural background both within and outside the country with an aim to double the inflow of tourists.nnImproving road infrastructure across the state is also imperative, while rural road density is better than all India average, urban road density in MP is quite poor which is having a negative impact on industrial development and overall economy of the state. ?Roping the private sector would be the key factor.?nnPrivate sector must be lured through tax rebates, interest subsidies and other means to invest and further improve rural electrification. Apart from this thrust should be given on promoting renewable energy sources.nnEfforts need to be made for robust development of state education infrastructure to bolster quality of education by making it more skill-based system, address issues related to dearth of teachers and focus should be on improving both school and higher education scenario.nnOther important suggestions:nnØ Healthcare – Need to make healthcare delivery both affordable and accessible even to the poorest of the poor.nØ Inter-state connectivity of rivers, laying of water pipelines, wells and tube-wells needs to be accelerated.nØ Modernise the airport infrastructure.nØ Develop more special economic zones matching world-class infrastructurenØ Follow social integration approach to resolve naxalism.