Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh raises state issues with prime minister, finance minister

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about issues pertaining to the state and sought their support for its development today.

Virbhadra Singh who called on Modi and Jaitley at New Delhi for the first time after the new government took over described the meeting as a "courtesy call", but said important issues of the state were discussed during separate meetings with Modi and Jaitley. 

Singh congratulated the Prime Minister on his taking over as 15th Prime Minister of India and said people of Himachal have high hopes and expectations from the new government. "The state has a narrow resource base and people craving for development are also equally concerned about preserving the environment and cultural heritage of the state," he said. 

Raising the issue of uniform funding of centrally sponsored projects in Himachal in the ratio of 90:10 (90 per cent Central grant and ten percent state share) as applicable to all hill states, Singh also urged the PM for revival of special industrial package to the state and restore the Income Tax exemption for five years and Central Excise exemption for ten years on new industries in the state till 2020.

Singh also apprised the Prime Minister about state's potential in hydropower, eco tourism and other eco-friendly industries and said that efforts were being made to involve public and private sectors to tap the potential.