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Jammu and Kashmir industry

Kashmir's handicrafts, including Pashmina and Kani shawls, carpets, papier-mache and walnut-wood carving, are exported worldwide. Industrial estates at Kathua, Samba and around Jammu and Srinagar have food processing, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing units, and hydropower stations are run by NHPC and the union territory.

The Jammu and Kashmir State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) and the Small Scale Industrial Development Corporation (SICOP) develop industrial areas.

Key industries

  • Horticulture and food processing
  • Handicrafts
  • Tourism
  • Hydropower
  • Pharmaceuticals

Specialties of Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir saffron

Saffron is grown on the karewa (plateau) lands of Pampore in Pulwama district and nearby areas of Budgam and Srinagar. The purple crocus flowers bloom for a few weeks in October and November, and each stigma is picked by hand and dried; it takes many thousands of flowers to make a kilogram. The India International Kashmir Saffron Trading Centre at Pampore tests and grades it.

Kashmir walnuts

Jammu and Kashmir grows most of India's walnuts, on trees spread across the valley and the hill districts. The nuts are harvested in autumn, sun-dried, and sold in shell or as kernels across India and abroad, and walnut wood is used for the valley's carved furniture and boxes.

Help for entrepreneurs and local industries

Every district has a District Industries Centre (DIC), run by the state's industries department. It is the first place to go to register a unit, to apply for the state's incentives and subsidies, and for help with central schemes such as PMEGP.

From the Jammu and Kashmir government

From the Government of India

  • Udyam Registration: free online registration for micro, small and medium enterprises, with an Aadhaar number; the Udyam certificate is needed for most MSME schemes and for priority-sector bank loans
  • Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): loans to start a new micro enterprise, with a government subsidy of 15 to 35 per cent of the project cost (higher in rural areas and for women, SC/ST and other special categories); apply through the District Industries Centre or the Khadi and Village Industries Commission
  • Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana: loans without collateral from banks, small finance banks and microfinance institutions: Shishu up to Rs 50,000, Kishor up to Rs 5 lakh, Tarun up to Rs 10 lakh, and Tarun Plus up to Rs 20 lakh for those who have repaid a Tarun loan
  • Stand-Up India: bank loans of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore to set up a new enterprise, for women and for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs
  • Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE): guarantees bank loans to micro and small enterprises, so they can borrow without collateral or a third-party guarantee
  • Startup India: recognition by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, which brings tax and patent benefits, the Startup India Seed Fund and mentoring
  • PM Vishwakarma: for artisans and craftspeople in 18 traditional trades: recognition, skill training with a stipend, a toolkit grant and low-interest loans without collateral
  • PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME): for small food-processing units: a 35 per cent credit-linked subsidy (up to Rs 10 lakh a unit), seed capital for self-help groups, and help with branding and marketing
  • Government e-Marketplace (GeM): sell goods and services online to government departments and public sector companies
  • MSME Samadhaan: file a case when a buyer has not paid a micro or small enterprise within 45 days
  • MSME Champions: the Ministry of MSME's help desk for complaints and problems with finance, approvals and markets
  • MSME Development and Facilitation Offices: the Ministry of MSME's offices in every state: advice, training, testing and the ministry's schemes
  • Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI): the bank for small industries: loans, and refinance through other lenders
  • National Single Window System: one place to apply for central approvals and licences, and for many states' approvals
  • One District One Product: promotes a chosen product of each district, with help to find buyers and export
  • NIESBUD: the national institute for entrepreneurship training, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
  • myScheme: search central and state government schemes by state, occupation and other details

Schemes, limits and subsidies change with each budget: check the official site before applying.

Sources

Summarised from the state's industrial policy and the official profiles linked below. Specialties: Kashmir saffron (Geographical Indication: Kashmir Saffron; One District One Product: Pulwama).

Reference links