Chief Secretary holds meeting with 8 member Singaporean delegation
Lucknow: Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra held a meeting with an 8-member Singaporean delegation led by Francis Chong, Chief and Senior Director, EMD and SIPO, and Kah Mei Chan, Chief and Director, SIPO. The meeting discussed the implementation of the MoU signed between the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of Uttar Pradesh to enhance economic activities during the UP Global Investors Summit.
In his address, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra suggested the delegation to explore the areas around Moradabad and Saharanpur for setting up skill development centers and furniture manufacturing units. He informed the delegation that skilled manpower is already available for furniture manufacturing in Saharanpur region and Saharanpur being located in the foothills of the Himalayas, good quality wood is available as raw material for wood based industries.
During the meeting, the composition and key functions of the Joint Partnership Committee (JPC) were discussed to identify mutual areas of cooperation. The JPC will be chaired by a senior minister from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and minister in-charge of trade relations with Singapore. It will also be attended by senior government officials from departments like Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply Department, Industrial Development Authority, Energy and Urban Development. The main task of the JPC will be to explore the possibility of partnership in the areas of urban development, industry development, MSME upgradation and skill development.
The delegation was apprised of the updated progress of the first pilot project being undertaken by Singapore at Kudha Keshavpur (Ayodhya), covering over 1322 households. The project aims to enhance the sustainability of drinking water supply, promote potable water supply and improve the quality and management of water supply networks.
The delegation informed that best practices in smart water management were shared with state officials for capacity building and to educate villagers and on-the-ground officials in management and use of smart technologies. After collecting data for analysis and evaluation of the impact of the pilot project, the assessment report will be presented before the JPC.
The delegation also discussed about the skill development scheme in the furniture manufacturing sector. One of the investors from Singapore showed interest in setting up a skill development center in the SEZ to train the workforce there.
During the meeting, CEO Invest UP Abhishek Prakash informed about the MoUs signed by Singapore based companies during the UP Global Investors Summit 2023 and assured cooperation to all the companies to expedite the implementation of the projects.
On this occasion, Principal Secretary Infrastructure and Industrial Development Narendra Bhushan and other senior officers were also present.
