Public Private Partnership cell to be established in Planning Department: CS The establishment of a Public-Private Partnership-cum-Project Appraisal (PPCPA) cell in Jammu and Kashmir should be seen as an important step towards taking development in the UT to the next level, as well address existing plan-related shortcomings. In approving the engagement of consultants and domain experts, and sanctioning a financial grant of Rs.90 lakhs for the functioning of the PPCPA cell, UT Chief Secretary Arun Mehta appears to have taken serious cognizance of the NITI Aayog’s latest performance mark-up of the region. Last month, the NITI Aayog's third India Innovation Index 2021 had placed Jammu and Kashmir in sixth position and the UT of Ladakh last among the nine UTs, which indeed was a disappointing statistic, given the recent efforts of the local administration and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to rejuvenate the system with several people-friendly schemes. Developed along the lines of the Global Innovation Index, the India Innovation Index reviews innovation ecosystems and capacities at a sub-national level, and currently with regard to J&K, there is a deep dive southwards. J&K and Ladakh were clubbed with seven other UTs and city states for determining ranking. It finished behind topper Chandigarh, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Goa. Ladakh at ninth was lamentably behind Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep. Dr Mehta’s sound advice to the UT planning department to approach the NITI Aayog for help in streamlining the functioning of the PPCPA cell to make it more efficient, systematic and result-oriented is a step in the right direction. Experts have been roped in from the fields of urban development, procurement, support personnel, planning, housing, transport, industry, tourism, social sector, finance, and environment, among others to create the required buzz of activity in the PPCPA cell. The new cell has been tasked with the responsibility of assisting all government departments in the framing PPP projects, doing regular cost-benefit analyses; assessing internal rates of return and returns on investment in each project launched. Its other responsibilities will be to provide assistance in the preparation of pre-feasibility reports, develop detailed project reports; recommend appropriate regulatory policy framework for creation, administration and monitoring of project development. Coordinating with relevant stakeholders/departments/agencies and serving as a repository on best practices, guidelines, schemes, the PPCPA cell’s role can hopefully raise the performance parameter/ranking of Jammu and Kashmir at least a notch or two in the coming year.