09-04-2026:Speech by Hon’ble Governor of Uttarakhand at the MIICCIA Legend Enterprise Awards 2026

Jai Hind!

Distinguished guests, respected members of MIICCIA, esteemed awardees, industry leaders, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to be present here today at the MIICCIA Legend Enterprise Awards as you mark ten years of this platform. Ten years of any institution is not merely a passage of time but a test of consistency and credibility. And above all, it is a test of whether an institution has been able to remain relevant to the needs of the nation.

Today’s occasion is therefore also a moment to recognise a decade of effort in bringing together enterprise, industry, dialogue and aspiration.
When we honour enterprise, we must be clear about what we are really honouring.

We are not honouring comfort.
We are honouring courage.

We are not honouring easy success.
We are honouring perseverance.

Behind every successful enterprise there are years of uncertainty, years of difficult decisions, years when people had to continue moving forward without any guarantee of success. Those who build, create employment, produce value, expand opportunity and keep faith with their teams perform a national service.

I have spent a lifetime in institutions where endurance matters. In public life and in military life, one learns that leadership is not in favourable circumstance, but when conditions are difficult. It is easy to take a decision in calm weather. It is much harder to take a decision when the terrain is uncertain, the pressure is high and others are looking to you for direction. Industry leaders know this reality very well. Entrepreneurs know it even better.

There is a lesson from India’s own development journey that is worth recalling today. Dr Verghese Kurien did not build the White Revolution through grand slogans alone. He built it by trusting ordinary producers, by creating institutions, by organising capacity, and by proving that when India’s people are empowered, India’s scale becomes India’s strength. Under his leadership, the National Dairy Development Board helped transform India into the world’s largest milk producer, with millions of producers linked through cooperative structures. That story is important because it reminds us that development in India has always moved forward when vision and institution-building have worked together.

This is why chambers of commerce and industry bodies matter. They do much more than organise meetings and conferences. They serve as connectors between policy and production, between ideas and implementation, between ambition and execution. In a fast-changing global economy, institutions like these help ensure that industry’s voice is heard, that collaboration is strengthened, and that growth is grounded in dialogue rather than isolation. That role becomes even more important at a time when India is not only growing, but also repositioning itself in the global economic order.

India today stands at an important point in its national journey. The vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 has given the country a long-term direction. It has called upon citizens, institutions, youth, industry and states to think in terms of a larger national mission. This vision cannot be achieved by government alone. It will require the combined strength of policymakers, entrepreneurs, innovators, workers, farmers, educators and institutions of public trust.

In that national effort, every state has a role. Uttarakhand also has a role, and a very important one.
Very often, Uttarakhand is seen only through the lens of its natural beauty, spirituality and pilgrimage. Those are indeed our strengths, and they are enduring strengths. But Uttarakhand today is also an emerging centre of economic activity and industrial opportunity. According to the state’s investment promotion platform, Uttarakhand highlights strong industrial infrastructure, investor-friendly policies, a Single Window system, proximity of about 2.5 hours from Delhi NCR, a working-age population of 70 percent, and a secondary sector share of 49 percent. The state has identified focus sectors such as tourism and hospitality, agriculture and agribusiness, renewable energy and manufacturing for accelerated growth.

The numbers also reflect this movement. PRS’ analysis of the Uttarakhand Budget 2025-26 notes that the state’s Gross State Domestic Product for 2025-26, at current prices, is projected at Rs 4,29,308 crore, representing a 13 percent growth over the revised estimate for 2024-25. That is not a small figure for a young Himalayan state. It indicates momentum. It indicates confidence. And it indicates that Uttarakhand is no longer to be seen only as a place of scenic value, but also as a place of serious economic possibility.

Tourism remains one of our strongest sectors, but even there the story is becoming larger and more dynamic. In 2025, Uttarakhand recorded over 6.03 crore tourists and pilgrims, including about 1.92 lakh foreign travellers, the highest footfall since the state’s formation. That tells us something important. It tells us that Uttarakhand is not attracting only faith-based travel. It is attracting larger attention, more sustained mobility, and greater confidence in the state’s infrastructure and destination appeal. It also means that tourism in Uttarakhand must now be understood not merely as seasonal inflow, but as a major engine of jobs, services, hospitality, transport, local enterprise and wellness-led growth.

Alongside tourism, industry and enterprise in Uttarakhand are also widening. The state’s own economic survey portal and related reporting indicate that MSME activity and employment have grown significantly in recent years. Reported figures show MSME units rising from 59,798 in 2021-22 to 79,394 in 2024-25, while employment in the sector rose from 3,43,922 in 2022 to 4,56,605 in 2025. These numbers are livelihoods. These are families supported. These are aspirations strengthened in towns, districts and industrial clusters across the state.

For Uttarakhand, this growth must always remain balanced growth. We are a state of extraordinary ecological wealth. We carry the Himalayas. We carry the Ganga. We carry a civilisational inheritance that cannot be measured only in economic terms. Therefore our development model has to be responsible, sustainable and rooted in long-term thinking. The question before us is not whether we should grow. The question is how we should grow. We must grow in a way that creates prosperity without damaging the very natural and cultural foundations that make Uttarakhand unique. The state’s investment messaging itself places sustainability at the centre of its growth model, and that is the correct approach.

I would also like to say a word here about the spirit of enterprise itself.

The finest institutions are not built only by capital. They are built by character.

Capital can establish a business.
Character builds an institution.

Capital can create scale.
Character creates trust.

Capital can open markets.
Character opens doors that remain open for generations.

This is especially true in India.
In our country, reputation matters deeply. Reliability matters deeply. The ability to keep one’s word matters deeply. In a society as large and diverse as ours, trust is not a soft value. It is hard economic infrastructure. When trust exists, partnership becomes possible. When partnership becomes possible, growth accelerates.

That is why events such as these are important. They shape aspiration. They send a message to younger entrepreneurs, to emerging leaders and to first-generation wealth creators that excellence is noticed, perseverance is respected and institution-building is valued.

To the awardees present here today, my heartfelt congratulations. Your achievements are your own, but their significance is larger than your individual success. You set examples. You create benchmarks. You remind society that achievement is not accidental. It is built through discipline, conviction and sustained effort.

I also take this opportunity to extend an invitation from Uttarakhand.

For those who wish to invest, collaborate, innovate and build, Uttarakhand is ready. We are ready in tourism. We are ready in wellness. We are ready in manufacturing. We are ready in agribusiness. We are ready in renewable energy. And equally importantly, we are ready with intent. The seriousness of a state is measured not only by its policies on paper, but by the clarity of its commitment.

Uttarakhand’s effort has been to simplify procedures, strengthen investor facilitation and create an environment where growth is both welcomed and guided.

As we move towards 2047, India will need many things. It will need growth, of course. It will need innovation, certainly. It will need infrastructure, technology and global competitiveness. But beyond all this, it will need institutions with integrity, entrepreneurs with courage, and leaders who understand that wealth creation and nation building are not separate tasks. In India’s case, they must go together.

That is why today’s gathering is meaningful.
It brings together enterprise and national purpose.
It brings together recognition and responsibility.
It brings together achievement and aspiration.

I commend MIICCIA for this platform and for its efforts in recognising excellence and encouraging enterprise. On this special occasion, I congratulate the organisers, the members, the awardees and all those who have contributed to this journey.

Let us continue to build an India that is prosperous, confident, innovative and inclusive.
Let us continue to build institutions that outlast individuals.

Let us continue to create opportunity with responsibility.

And let us move forward with the conviction that when enterprise is guided by national purpose, development becomes not only faster, but more meaningful.

Thank you.
Jai Hind.