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Ten Rural Business Hubs will be set up as pilot projects as a part of a proposal for synergy between Panchayats and industry in developing rural business hubs. As envisaged at the National Presentation on Rural Business Hubs held here last year, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) would be setting up 50 such Rural Business hubs in ten states at the second stage. These will be developed on the Chinese model of Rural Business Hubs by utilizing locally available material of blocks or districts of the states by industrial houses using value addition and technology. Linkages will also be provided for urban and export markets through exhibitions, showrooms buying houses etc. The financial assistance required for this would be secured from the World Bank as loans and UNDP as grants besides funding from industrial groups. This emerged at the first meeting of the newly constituted Rural Business Hubs Council with Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj as Chairman and Shri Sunil Kant Munjal President CII as Co-Chairman.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Aiyar urged state governments to identify the blocks and resources or skills available for development and value addition by industry. Core groups have also been formed for the development of textiles, handlooms and handicrafts; agri-processing; legacy industries and power. Reputed firms like Global Agri System on Food Processing, Bharat Yuyak Shakti Trust, NABARD, National Commission on Unorganized Enterprises etc. have been involved in this task of developing Rural Business Hubs.
Initiall business hubs would be set up in ten states namely, Assam, Chhatisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal. Some states like Maharastra has also shown considerable interest in setting up rural business hubs and has contacted CII in this regard.
Later addressing media persons Shri Aiyar said a Second National Presentation on Rural Business Hubs would be held on November 16, 2005. “We are moving in the right direction conceptually and the idea is catching up;” the minister added.
SBK:CP:hubs29.7
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