By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 12th Jan: Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Ganesh Joshi participated in the International NRI Uttarakhandi Convention held at Hyatt Centric. Minister Ganesh Joshi welcomed and congratulated the expatriates from various countries who attended the event.
While addressing the gathering, Joshi expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of the state, Pushkar Singh Dhami, for their special efforts to attract more investors to Uttarakhand. He highlighted the potential for investment in sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, herbal, Ayush and wellness tourism, and aromatics in Uttarakhand.
Minister said that the enthusiasm of Uttarakhandis residing abroad clearly reflects their deep connection to their motherland. He urged the expatriates to take advantage of the natural blessings of the state, the “double engine” growth model, and the available human resources to invest at a large scale, thereby contributing to the state’s development and addressing issues like unemployment and migration.
He mentioned that with the challenges faced in agriculture and the increasing market for aromatic sectors, the state government has launched the Aromatic Sector in Uttarakhand. He explained that with the technical support of the Scented Plant Centre (CAP) in Selakui, 109 aroma clusters have been developed in Uttarakhand, where around 28,000 farmers are cultivating scented crops such as lemongrass, damask rose, timru, bay leaf, mint, and chamomile across 9,800 hectares.
Minister Joshi also mentioned the establishment of 190 micro-enterprise units in rural areas for the processing of aromatic crops through distillation plants, providing local employment. He highlighted that the state government is offering a minimum support price for 22 aromatic oils to ensure a market for the products produced by Uttarakhand’s aromatic farmers.
He further mentioned that CAP has developed a perfume called “Timuru The Uttarakhand” from timru, a plant native to the mountainous regions, and its commercial production has already begun through the House of Himalaya.
Several Uttarakhand expatriates also shared their thoughts during the event.
On this occasion, MLA Kishore Upadhyay, Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary Deependra Chaudhary, officials from the Agriculture and Rural Development Department, and several Uttarakhandi expatriates were present.
