Punjab CM promises increased support to existing industry

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has promised to extend support provided to local investors and existing industry to leverage the state's intrinsic strengths.

The chief minister made this assurance here yesterday during the second round of informal consultations with industry to elicit their views and feedback before finalising the operational guidelines of the new industrial policy.

The policy, along with the operational guidelines, are expected to become fully functional by July 1 this year, an official statement said here today.

"Time-bound delivery of regulatory and fiscal clearances was the top priority of the Congress government, which was looking at incorporating the concept of deemed clearances to ensure hassle-free business experience," Singh said.

Assuring all assistance to industries in setting up their units in the state, Singh welcomed suggestions and directed the chief principal secretary to examine and incorporate the same in the operational guidelines.

The chief minister also urged the industry help complement the state's "aggressive efforts in development and creation of jobs".

"It was their shared responsibility to re-energise and reinvigorate the state infrastructure through industrial revolution so that Punjab could reclaim its place of glory," he told the industry leaders, whom he described as ambassadors of the state.

Singh claimed that there was an "improved" investor sentiment in the state.

On the suggestion of Sunil Kant Munjal of Hero MotoCorp that the government should provide more land to two-wheeler manufacturing units, the chief minister directed the department concerned to examine the same.

Kamal Oswal of Nahar Industrial Enterprise Limited suggested full benefits on modernisation of units and enhancement of the land limit for industrial parks from 10 to 25 acres, while Kamna Raj Aggrawal of Engineering Export Promotion Council (North India) raised the issue of extension of benefits to 100 per cent export units on the lines of the manufacturing industry, which was endorsed by Anoop Bector of Mrs Bector's Food Specialities Ltd.

L D Mittal of Sonalika ITL suggested the extension of incentives and benefits to tractor Agri equipment Manufacturers, where GST on input cost was "higher" than that on finished goods.

Suneet Kochhar of Khanna Papers called for increase in freight subsidy for transport of finished goods to Kandla, Mundra and Mumbai ports to attract more investors.

Hotel Radisson's Gautam Kapoor suggested incentives for the hotel industry at par with the manufacturing sector.

The chief minister also accepted the inivation extented by Sachit Jain of Vardhman Group, to attend the 'Invest North II' to be held in Singapore during August.