PK Gupta

May 7: A month after the Centre declared the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007, investors are showing interest to set up business in the region.

First among them is the Rs 1,200-crore Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS), which has already set up a plant in the industrial estate at Bamunimaidam.

Executive director of DS Group, P.K. Gupta, today said the plant would become operational by July.

The Rs 2-crore unit under the company’s flagship brand Catch will initially make jaljeera and gradually expand to other products in its food and beverage portfolio.

The company, which already has a plant in Delhi, is planning to set up more units in the region for production of spices. “We are committed to the development of the region and the unit at Bamunimaidam is our first step in this direction,” Gupta said, adding that the unit was an important part of the company’s expansion plan.

The DS Group has plans to buy raw materials for its spice plant from the region depending on the transportation costs.

The new policy has many attractions for investors, including incentives for making investments in the region in the service sector, bio-technology and power generating industries.

Gupta said the company was shocked after the industrial policy declared that pan masala, which is one of its main businesses, would not be eligible for incentives under the policy. “This was a real shock for us, as we have been in this business in the region for a number of years now,” he said.

“Industrialisation in the region depends on investments and if the government withdraws incentives, it creates problems,” Gupta added.

The company, which has already hired nearly 1,500 local workers, is also planning to open a five-star hotel in the city and a school, for which it is looking for a suitable plot.

It has already commissioned a Rs 60-crore flexible packaging unit at Bonda and a heat resistant rubber thread plant in Agartala under the brand name Unitex. It is also planning to set up a steel plant in Agartala, which would start commercial production of cold-rolled and galvanised sheets by 2008.

Sources in the government said after the policy was announced, a number of companies are making a beeline for setting up units in the region.