Srinagar, October 5
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi-led delegation of corporate India’s top brass today assured the youths of Kashmir the setting up of a centre for innovation to generate jobs for Kashmiri students.

The single largest powerful business delegation, which came to the valley for the first time, included Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group; Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Birla Aditya Birla Group; Deepak Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corp; Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director Bajaj Auto Ltd, and Ashoka Reddy, Managing Director MindTree job consultancy/placement company.

Pinning hopes on the potential and talent of the valley youths, the corporate leaders said there are tremendous opportunities awaiting them since they have the requisite potential and talent.

Ratan Tata said it has been a real step forward to have a conversation with the great wealth of human capital that exists here. “What Mr Gandhi has done is not open a window, but open a door,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi said he is back in Kashmir University with business leaders. This he had assured the valley youth during his previous visit here. He stated that peace was a prerequisite to big investments in Kashmir. It was only after the establishment of lasting peace that big businesses would come and set up ventures here.

“The students had said they wanted to speak to the captains of industry and I had promised this to them. I think we have some of the brightest children in the room behind us. They were very happy to talk to the business leaders. My aim is to develop trust with the youth of Kashmir," he said.

The business tycoons participated in a two-and-a-half hour interactive session with 700 university students and some faculty members and expressed the hope that they would invest in sectors like tourism and hospitality, but maintenance of peace in the valley was a must for any economic gains.

In reply to a question, Dinesh Parekh said that peace is the biggest priority for the establishment of any industry. Credit is the lowest in the Kashmir Valley as, currently, it stands at just 40 per cent.

Ratan Tata held that his group will get in touch with the University of Kashmir to launch an internship programme so that the local students can work side by side for permanent employment. “It is a commitment," he said.

Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto Group promised students that he would again return to the university in December to interact with the students regarding job placements and creation of innovative opportunities for them.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Rahul Gandhi and country's top industrialists also held an interactive session with local entrepreneurs where they talked about the state’s rich potential for area specific industrialisation.

“Batting for closer coordination between big industrial houses of the country and entrepreneurs of the state to venture jointly in the industrial and trade sectors, Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi said that Jammu and Kashmir possesses rich potential for area specific industrialisation,” an official spokesman said.