Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today reviewed the preparations for the first-ever Global Capability Centre (GCC) Summit, scheduled to be held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Jammu, on October 9–10, with a focus on attracting investment, generating skilled employment and exploring the potential of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as emerging destinations for technology-driven enterprises.
The meeting besides ACS, Finance was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Information Technology Department; Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education Department; Secretary, Skill Development Department; Director, IIM-Jammu; Director, Skill Development Department: CEO, CITaG; Representatives from NassCom and other senior government functionaries.
Chairing a high-level preparatory meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasised that the summit should go beyond deliberations and serve as a platform for building meaningful partnerships between the government, industry and academic institutions, besides identifying new avenues for economic growth across Jammu and Kashmir.
He observed that the growing preference of global enterprises for Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities presents a significant opportunity for J&K to leverage its educated youth, competitive operating costs and expanding institutional infrastructure to attract investment and create high-value employment opportunities.
The Chief Secretary underscored the importance of exploring the potential of smaller cities to emerge as alternative destinations for GCCs, thereby extending the benefits of technology-led economic growth beyond traditional metropolitan centres.
He further observed that the summit would provide a valuable learning experience for government officers by exposing them to emerging industry requirements, global business practices and innovative models of collaboration between the government and private sector.
Dulloo called for systematically documenting the feedback, recommendations and suggestions emerging from the summit so that these could inform future policy interventions. He said the deliberations should also contribute towards laying the groundwork for the government's upcoming policy on the circular economy.
Emphasising the importance of wider publicity, the Chief Secretary directed the concerned departments to undertake extensive media outreach at both regional and national levels to ensure greater visibility for the summit and effectively communicate the investment opportunities offered by Jammu and Kashmir.
He called for coordinated efforts by all stakeholders to ensure that the summit translates into tangible outcomes in terms of investor interest, institutional partnerships, employment opportunities and a clear roadmap for developing the GCC ecosystem in the Union Territory.
During the meeting, Director, IIM Jammu, Prof. B. S. Sahay, gave a detailed presentation on the objectives of the summit, its proposed sessions, participation of industry representatives and other stakeholders, besides the arrangements being made for its successful conduct.
He informed that the two-day summit to be held here from Oct 8-10 would bring together industry leaders, policymakers, technology experts, investors and representatives of academic institutions to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges associated with establishing GCCs in emerging destinations such as Jammu and Kashmir.
Giving details of th summit programme, the Director informed that the inaugural session on October 9. The first day would feature three thematic panel discussions on industry-government collaboration, India's GCC growth story and partnerships for investment, employment and economic development in J&K.
The second day would feature discussions on leveraging the advantages of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities for technological innovation, the future o talent and work force transformation, and a roadmap for making J&K an emerging GCC destination.
The summit would particularly focus on industry-government collaboration, India's evolving GCC landscape, investment and employment opportunities, technological innovation, workforce transformation and the formulation of a comprehensive roadmap for positioning J&K as an attractive GCC destination.
The meeting was informed that J&K possesses several advantages, including a young and educated talent pool, comparatively lower operating costs, a favourable quality of life and the presence of premier academic and training institutions. These strengths, supported by an enabling policy environment and coordinated institutional facilitation, could help attract global enterprises seeking to diversify their operations beyond major metropolitan cities.
The Chief Secretary emphasised upon the timely completion of all outstanding preparations, stressing that the summit should project J&K's investment potential while creating opportunities for sustained engagement with prospective investors and industry stakeholders.
It was further informed that documentation of the summit proceedings would commence on October 12, with the finalisation of the proceedings, recommendations and summit resolution targeted for October 16. These would provide a basis for subsequent policy deliberations and follow-up action by the concerned departments.
