Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday signed 37 MoUs with private investors for setting up their industrial units on the sidelines of the three-day HIM MSME Fest 2026, which also witnessed Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s interactions with CEOs and entrepreneurs from leading industries in India and abroad at Peterhoff, Shimla.
Total investment intended through new MoUs is Rs 10,000 crore. Those present at the event included Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) R D Nazeem, Director (Industries) Yunus, Additional Director (Industries) Tilak Raj Sharma, and top officials of the state and central government.
Prior to this, the Chief Minister held extensive discussions during the conference regarding the expansion and promotion of industries in the state.
Speaking at the function, the Chief Minister said a new industrial policy will be introduced in the state soon to facilitate the setting up of new industries and give a new thrust to promote green industries and open new areas of investments like renewable energy, green mobility, defence, data centres, AI, tourism-related areas, local raw material-based processing industry, and future-ready technologies.
“The state government is continuously undertaking new initiatives to develop an investment-friendly ecosystem so that Himachal Pradesh can become a reliable and attractive investment destination for investors. There is a greater focus on rural-based industries and MSMEs promoted by the women,” he said
He announced a phased replacement of all 22,000 petrol and diesel-powered taxi vehicles in the state with electric vehicles. The state government is introducing a new scheme that will provide a 40 per cent subsidy. A tender will soon be issued for the operation of buses using green hydrogen fuel in the state.
“The tourism industry is our special priority,” he said. We are improving connectivity in the state in light of this. Land acquisition for the Kangra airport will be completed by March 31 this year. He said that to encourage the hospitality sector in the state, permission will be granted for the opening of 200 five-star hotels.