KCCI urges Parliamentary panel to address business hurdles, logistics gaps and declining exports

Ziraat Times News Desk

Srinagar: The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday presented a detailed memorandum to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, highlighting a range of challenges facing trade, industry and exports in Jammu & Kashmir and offering sector-specific recommendations for corrective action.

The delegation, led by Senior Vice President Ashiq Hussain Shangloo and Joint Secretary General Umer Nazir Tibetbaqal, met the Committee chaired by MP Dola Sen. The meeting was also attended by Members of Parliament Renuka Chowdhury, Awasthi Ramesh, Yusuf Pathan, Shiv Pal Singh Patel, Sadanand Mhalu Shet Tanavade, Santosh Panday, Prasun Banerjee, and Prashant Yadaorao Padole, among others.

KCCI drew attention to the continued bureaucratic hurdles despite the Centre’s emphasis on Ease of Doing Business. The Chamber said entrepreneurs face months-long delays in approvals and hoteliers are trapped in an endless cycle of no-objection certificates (NoCs). It urged implementation of a genuine single-window system “in letter and spirit.”

On industrial growth, KCCI flagged the absence of an incentive scheme after the ₹28,400 crore New Central Sector Scheme was exhausted in September 2024. The Chamber pressed for a new package worth ₹75,000 crore with at least 25 percent reserved for local entrepreneurs.

Lack of logistics and warehousing was cited as a major bottleneck, with the Chamber recommending establishment of a logistics park, additional parcel trains, and special transport facilities such as reefer vans. It also called for urgent development of a railway freight corridor.

KCCI noted the decline of handicraft exports from ₹1,162 crore in 2023–24 to ₹733 crore in 2024–25, urging targeted interventions like warehousing abroad, recognition of J&K as a focused region under the Export Promotion Mission, reintroduction of 3% interest subvention, and setting up an Inland Container Depot in Kashmir.

The Chamber also called for:

• Accreditation of the new Pashmina fibre testing lab at SKUAST-K with NABL and the Wildlife Department.

• Distribution of 500 modernised looms to artisans in 2025.

• Strict certification of only 100 percent handmade Pashmina under the proposed Golden Pashmina Brand.

• Support for Kashmiri IT startups in global fairs and delegations.

Raising financial access concerns, KCCI said entrepreneurs continue to face credit denials due to low or erroneous CIBIL scores, despite their businesses being viable. It recommended a government-backed verification system and special relaxations from the RBI and banks for J&K-based enterprises.

Expressing optimism after the meeting, KCCI said it hopes the Standing Committee will take its recommendations seriously and help shape a “resilient and sustainable economic future” for Jammu & Kashmir.