Amarinder backs US envoy's views on privatisation to boost development

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today favoured privatisation as a tool for development, saying the state's new industrial and business policy was playing a key role in attracting private investment.

Singh said investors have committed Rs 20,000 crore since the Congress government took over last year.

Talking to US Ambassador Kenneth Juster here, he agreed with him on the need to empower the private sector and have them fulfil their CSR responsibilities, according to an official release.

Singh said the new policy was aimed at providing lucrative incentives to investors and entrepreneurs.

He expressed confidence that Punjab would soon emerge as the favoured investment destination in India because of its investor-friendly policy, including uninterrupted power at Rs 5 per unit for the industry, along with other incentives.

He assured Juster that the state government would provide support and cooperation to American investors.

He said the exodus of industry, which the state had seen during the days of terrorism, was now reversing.

Saying that his government shares a great relationship with the Centre, which had been very helpful, Singh pointed to India's diversity to underline the importance of communal harmony.

Extremism of any kind could not work here, he told the US envoy.

"While the results of the 2019 parliamentary election would depend on how alliances are stitched ahead of the polls, the Congress was definitely set to gain as the BJP was fast losing ground," Singh said during his meeting with Juster.

He said Punjab is predominantly an agrarian state, having mere 2 per cent of land but contributing over 40 per cent of its share in country's food basket.

"It is now time for us to shift from agrarian economy to high-tech industry as our conventional agriculture has already reached a plateau," the chief minister said.

Earlier, the US Ambassador had also called on Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh today.