New industrial policy to come in force by Jan: Manpreet

Ludhiana, Nov 28 (UNI) As Punjab is primarily an agrarian state, the state government has proposed to create a land pool system by identifying the non fertile and less fertile lands in the state to establish big industries and SEZs.

An attractive new industrial policy to facilitate fast investments would be implemented from January 2008 positively, said Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal while addressing the industrialists at a function organised by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India here last night.

He said that for the preparation of new industrial policy UNIDO, a subsidiary of UN, has been engaged. He further added that as a part of it, funds amounting to Rs 3000 crore were being spent to strengthen the entire road network in the state.

Exhorting the Punjabi industrialists and NRIs settled in different parts of the country and abroad to invest in Punjab, the Minister said the state government had accorded top priority to the strengthening of infrastructure including roads network, air services and power in the state.

Expressing his concern over the attitude of the Central government towards Punjab, the Minister said that Central government had given a number of concession for the industries in the neighboring states, which had resulted in migration of industries out of Punjab.

He regretted that the state was being given only 1.22 per cent share from the Central revenue, which was much less than the share of other states, even though Punjab was contributing more than 60 per cent for the Central Food Grain Pool.

The Minister further stressed that the state government would encourage the big investors in knowledge sector to create an educated and vocationally trained work force in the state.

He also informed that the government had offered to the corporate sector to take control of the polytechnics and ITIs in the state to create substantial trained work force as per the requirements of the industry.

He said that to check the migration of rural Punjabi youth from the state to foreign countries, the state government was opening a large number of skill development centres in all parts of the state, where short term vocational training in small ventures like welders, plumbers, mansions etc would be provided.

Elaborating the programme for urban development, the Finance Minister said that three big cities of the state, ie Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar were being fully modernised and the infrastructure was being developed by spending funds amounting to Rs 3500 crore on each city.

Keeping in view the fast growth of automotive industry in the country, the Minister said that the state government would also lay major focus on the further development in auto component industry in Punjab.

UNI