State plans tie-up with FICCI to help revive trade and employment

The Jharkhand government has decided to rope in Federation of Indian Chamber and Commerce & Industry (FICCI) as its national industry partner to facilitate and guide policies in trade and commerce to create jobs in the post-Covid-induced lockdown period.

Officials in the state industry department said an MoU would be signed with FICCI soon, while state industries secretary Pooja Singhal confirmed that chief minister Hemant Soren, who also holds industry portfolio, had given his consent for this.

“The purpose of a tie-up with FICCI is to help and advise the state government towards economic revival during the post-Covid period to bolster investments and create jobs. They (FICCI) will also be helping us devise plans and policies for optimal utilisation of resources in priority sectors identified by the state,” she explained.

After coming to power in December last year, the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has been highlighting the fact that it inherited empty coffers because of lavish spending by the former BJP-led state government. While the pandemic-induced lockdown further dented state revenues, the return of about seven lakh migrant workers who had lost their livelihood added to the burden of the state government.

Now, after several months, a section of migrant workers is beginning to return to their places of work outside the state. Yet, economic hardships for most still remain