Jammu & Kashmir is the jeweled crown of India with extravagant beauty of Himalayas, and have main three geographical regions known as “The Lesser Himalayas” or the “Jhelum Valley” (Kashmir), “The Inner Himalayas” or “The Indus Valley” (Ladakh & Frontier areas) also called “Trans-Himalayas”, and “The Outer-Himalayas” or “The Southern mountain range” (Jammu). The area of J&K is 2,22,236 square kilometers .The capitals of Jammu and  Kashmir are Srinagar in the summer from May to October and Jammu in the winter from November to April.

Kashmir is famous for its natural beauty and has often been referred to as the 'Switzerland of the East'. The heart of the area is the fertile Vale of Kashmir (known as The Valley), which lies between the Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range of mountains. Here the climate is mild and the soil well watered. Kashmir is well known for its Handicrafts , in particular, its shawls and carpet.

The city of Jammu is named after Jambu Lochan. During 1730 AD, the Dogra rulers built the city of Jammu as their capital and adorned it with numerous temples and shrines now known as the city of Temples. It is dotted with some historical temples like the Raghunath Temple, Ranbireshwar Temple, Peer Kho Temple, Panjbakhtar Temple which are over a hundred years old.

Ladakh is bound by the mighty Karokaram mountain range in the north and the Great Himalayas in the South. Landscape of Ladakh has been modified and sculpted into the spectacular shape by the wind and the erosion over the centuries. Its altitude ranges from 9000 to 25000 feet. And is traversed by other mountain chains, the Ladakh range and Zanaskar range. It is rightly called “the broken moonland” and “land of endless discovery”.

Jammu and Kashmir has excellent connectivity. There are daily flights to Srinagar, Jammu and Leh. Indeed, there are 24 flights between Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu everyday. The Indian Airlines, the Jet Airways, the Jet Light, the Deccan, the Goair and Spice Jet operate in this sector. The Govt. of India has upgraded and declared the Srinagar Airport as an International airport. The Jammu Airport has already been upgrade. As far as Railways are concerned, Jammu Railway station handles 32 passengers trains. The railway line has now been extended from Jammu upto Udhampur and the passenger trains have now started between Qazigund to Baramulla in Kashmir. The National Highway 1-A connects the capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu with rest of the country.
It is well recognised fact that Jammu and Kashmir is one of the most beautiful part of the world and is blessed with the salubrious climate. Natural factors are more conducive for handicrafts ,village and small scale Industries and less to large and heavy Industries. However, J&K have always a very strong handicrafts sector with our Shawls, Carpets, Paper Machie and wood carving Products being popular all over the world.Jammu & Kashmir had started the process of new Industrialization in 1970 when many Industrial Complexes and Estate were created and a fairly good infrastructure was setup to attracts investors.

The industry sector has been declared as the main vehicle for accelerating economic activity besides providing employment to the educated unemployed youths in the state .Development of industrial infrastructure has been the focus of special attention during the last few years . At present we have 51 industrial estates and many more are in the process of being developed across the State. The efforts made by us over the past few years have started bearing fruits Presently, registered Small Scale Industrial units are operational in the State and have provided employment. Medium and Large Industrial development always remains a thrust area in the Governments Agenda. In the perspective of Industrial growth, Industries and Commerce Department has been established with a system for carrying its activities effectively for concentrating to attract investment in the State. The Industries & Commerce Deptt. of Jammu and Kashmir Govt. Came into existence in year 1970 with 4 Directorates, 8 Corporations & 4 training institutes.The Directorates are as Directorate of Industries & Commerce, Directorate of Handicrafts Development Deptt., Directorate of Handloom Dev. Deptt., and Directorate of Geology & Mining. The Directorate of Industries & Commerce was bifurcated in year 2007 into two Directorates i.e One for Jammu Division & Other for Kashmir Division. The corporations/Boards are SIDCO, SICOP, J&K Handicrafts (S&E) Corporation, J&K Handloom Development Corporation, J&K Cement Ltd, J&K Minierals ltd., J&K Industries, J&K Khadi & Village Industry Board.Training Institutes are as:-Craft Development Institute, Indian Institute of Carpet technology, J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute, School of Designs.