Haryana is the first Indian state to launch an industry portal

Gurgaon: The Haryana government today launched http://haryanaindustries.nic.in, the first industries portal launched by a state in India, in association with Microsoft India Pvt Ltd.

The portal was launched at Gurgaon today by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister, Haryana, in the presence of the Union Commerce and Industries Minister, Kamal Nath.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Hooda said, ''We are committed to the development of industry in the state – and the portal will be a huge step towards achieving that goal. I see it serving as a window for global and national investors to look into the advantages Haryana offers as an investment destination, and facilitate their involvement by providing all relevant information and facilities online.''

Developed by the government of Haryana in partnership with Microsoft, the portal lists and is linked to all the acts, policies, rules, and forms that may be required by a potential investor. The portal can also be of help to budding entrepreneurs by providing them a roadmap for setting up a business using the Business Planner, as well as linking them to all stakeholders and build a bridge to the providers of raw material, human resources, funds etc.

The portal has discussion forums where registered industries can start or participate in discussions on any subject of interest, and can contribute to blogs, wiki entries and participate in various opinion polls.

PK Chaudhery, Financial Commissioner Industries, Government of Haryana commented ''We appreciate the work Microsoft has put in to make the portal so easy to navigate.''

Karan Bajwa, country head, public sector, Microsoft India, said, ''In today's connected and competitive environment, it is imperative that the Indian industry gears up – and ICT is a critical enabler for bringing about a leap into the next phase of growth. We have worked with the government of Haryana in an attempt to give the world a glimpse into the potential of the state''. The portal makes extensive use of state-of-the-art Microsoft technologies like .NET framework, SQL Server database and Sharepoint Server.

The Haryana government had recently introduced the Industrial Promotion Act, and along with it, the Composite Application Form (CAF) as a single window interface covering all details of statutory clearances and approvals required. The CAF interface is now available online; and the status of the application can also be viewed over the Internet.