THE fruits of business investments and industries brought into Jammu and Kashmir after 2019 will be visible by the next year, even as the administration is working to achieve a target of securing investments worth Rs 75,000 crore, a top Government officer said.

Till now, the erstwhile state has received investment proposals worth Rs 56,867 crore and this is expected to generate more than 2.62 lakh jobs for the youth in the coming times, said the officer who did not wish to be named.

The special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked with the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019 and it was divided into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

“The Union Territory of J&K has also attracted a lot of interest from foreign investors and this can be pegged at about Rs 3,000 crore,” the officer told a group of visiting journalists here on Saturday. Jammu and Kashmir is a “good package” as it offers natural advantages in terms of resources and logistics, and this cannot be matched by many other states or union territories, he said.

“It is being said that the business investment made here post-August 2019 is not visible but the fact is that getting industries operational on the ground usually takes about three years. “We had COVID-19 for two years (2020 and 2021) and things started picking up from September last year,” he added. The results will be visible in another year and about 500 industries will start by the next month itself, the officer asserted.

“We want to take the investments in J&K to Rs 75,000 crore and we are confident we will be able to do it in the near future,” he said. The union territory administration has processed and allotted land to 1,600 investors. Out of these, 800 investors have deposited the requisite funds with the government and 110 have even started work, he said.