The Government of Himachal Pradesh has made several policy announcements with a view to attract investment into the various sectors of the economy. These policies guide the investors about the various business opportunities in the State and remove the road blocks which hampers the industrial map of the State. These policy documents also envisage the investment incentives and schemes for the investors.

The major being, the Industrial Policy, which has been formulated in order to boost the confidence of investors and catalyse industrial expansion in the State. The basic objectives of the policy are to:-

• Serve as a guideline for achieving the objective of uniform growth of industry and service sector throughout the State
• Disperse industries and service sector activities
• Facilitate generation of employment opportunities for local resource owners and stakeholders
• Develop key infrastructural sectors like power, housing, social infrastructure development, human resource development and vocational education, so as to create a congenial investment climate for existing industry to grow as well as to attract further investments in the State
• Clearly spell out the industrial incentives of fiscal nature
• Specifically address the issues impeding industrial growth such as procedures for setting up of industry, obtaining permissions required under various labour laws, transportation of industrial produce, etc. so as to lay the foundation of strong and consistent growth of the industrial sector etc.

Another important policy is the Biotechnology Policy, which aims to set up sound biotechnology-based industries in Himachal Pradesh. The main objectives of the policy are to:-

• Upgrade infrastructural support to R&D Institutions to generate highly skilled human resource in biotechnology
• Intensify R&D work in potential areas of biotechnology, including agriculture, animal husbandry, human health, etc
• Conserve and commercially exploit bioresources of the State for sustainable development
• Attract entrepreneurs for setting up of biotechnology based industries in the State
• Promote diversified farming of high value cash crops, conservation and commercial exploitation of bioresources
• Provide suitable institutional framework to achieve these objectives.

Besides, there is an Eco-Tourism Policy, which has been announced to make Himachal Pradesh a leading eco-tourism destination in the country by 2010. The vision of the policy is to preserve and protect the natural heritage, both flora and fauna, of Himachal Pradesh and attract discerning tourists and visitors to the State; and in return provide opportunities to enhance livelihood of the local people and alongside generate revenue for the sustainable development of its resources through the creation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Hence, the broad objectives of the policy are to:-

• Create appreciation, education and awareness of natural heritage of Himachal Pradesh
• Enunciate mechanisms for partnerships in eco-tourism both with the local communities as well as private enterprise committed to the goals of eco- tourism
• Identify and promote activities in tandem with the principles of community-based eco-tourism with the benefits accruing to the local community in terms of income as well as employment generation
• Ensure safeguards from environment point of view to effectively regulate the eco-tourism activities in forest area
• Generate resource through the Special Purpose Vehicle from the assets made available to it by the Forest Department, which would be used to create and maintain the assets
• Create a cadre of personnel within and outside the Forest Department who are sensitive to the tenets of eco-tourism and can act as resource persons to further its cause
• Actively coordinate with the tourism, fisheries, handicrafts, culture, HMI (Himalayan Mountaineering Institute) and other related departments to further the cause of eco-tourism
• Actively promote the concept of homesteads in rural areas connected with eco-tourism so that the income accrues to the local people;
• Implement CBET (Community Based Eco-Tourism) concepts with the involvement of local communities and voluntary organizations
• Undertake sustainable public-private partnerships with regard to Government properties in the field of eco-tourism
• Decongest the over-loaded tourist places so that the benefits of tourism are spread to rural areas etc.

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