A solar-powered car built in Champawat. A dairy farm grown from a single cow in Uttarkashi. A startup in Udham Singh Nagar crossing a ₹10 crore turnover. On Saturday, 17 October 2026, these were not investor-pitch headlines — they were the voices inside Mukhya Sevak Sadan at the Chief Minister's Camp Office in Dehradun, as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami sat down with the state's grass-roots builders for the 'Viksit Uttarakhand — Yatra Jaari Hai' (Developed Uttarakhand — The Journey Continues) dialogue programme.

The event, jointly organised by the Planning Department (Niyojan Vibhag) and Devbhoomi Dialogue, brought together entrepreneurs, innovators, progressive farmers, and self-employed individuals from across Uttarakhand's districts. CM Dhami listened to their experiences, achievements, and suggestions — and made a pointed declaration: 'Uttarakhand nirantar aage badh raha hai' (Uttarakhand is moving continuously forward), aligning the state's trajectory with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

From 700 to 1,700 Startups in Five Years

CM Dhami cited startup growth as one of the clearest markers of the state's transformation. He said the number of registered startups in Uttarakhand has grown from approximately 700 to over 1,700 in the last five years — more than doubling — driven by youth entering agriculture, technology, and industry with fresh experiments. The government, he said, is continuously working to strengthen the local economy through self-employment promotion.

He also revisited the foundational logic of the state's formation: when Uttarakhand was carved out in 2000, tourism and energy were identified as its two primary development pillars. Both, he said, have seen significant progress — tourism is generating employment, and multiple energy projects, including hydroelectric ventures, are currently in motion.

The Faces Behind the Numbers

The dialogue's most striking moments came from the participants themselves. Rahul Nariyal of Champawat described building a car that runs on solar energy and battery power. Jayprakash of Uttarkashi started with a single cow, used state government schemes to scale up, and now runs a dairy with five Badri cows and eight indigenous cows. Naveen Patwal of Pauri district is commercially cultivating Gucchi mushrooms — a high-value Himalayan variety — and generating employment for others in the process.

Vikas Kumar Shah of Udham Singh Nagar told CM Dhami that the startup he runs with his wife has crossed a turnover of ₹10 crore. Rajesh of Chamoli district presented a rare reverse-migration success story: he returned to his village, built a business around rosemary and herbal products, and is now employing local residents. Kamala Devi of Nainital shared that she earns a good income repairing vehicle tyres — a reminder that self-employment takes many forms.

Dr. Harpal Negi of Chamoli's Ghes region has encouraged over 300 people to cultivate Kutki (Picrorhiza kurroa) and other medicinal plants, generating a collective annual income of approximately ₹1.5 to ₹2 crore. Lalit Khati of Someshwar spoke about integrated farming and local job creation, while Anita Sharma Thapliyal, joining virtually, described her work in inclusive education for autism-affected children in Dehradun.

A Singapore Connection and a Village Adoption Promise

Among the most striking contributions came from Shailesh, a native of Tanakpur in Champawat, who joined the programme virtually from Singapore, where he works in sewage water treatment. He expressed his wish to adopt a village in Champawat and contribute to its development — a signal that Uttarakhand's diaspora is looking inward, not just outward.

Taken together, these stories from the hills are Uttarakhand's most compelling argument yet that the journey it set out on in 2000 is finally gathering speed on the ground — one farm, one startup, one returning son at a time.