Authorities organize a conference to encourage expatriates to invest in Punjab

Chandigarh, Jan 25 (ANI): The Punjab Government has organised a conference to attract expatriates to make the state, the world's skills capital and also to help it to develop infrastructure of the state.

Aimed at giving a call to the expatriates to return to their roots and become active partners in the economic and the infrastructural development of the state, the conference- 'Making Punjab: The Skill Capital of the World' was inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Speaking on the occasion, Badal claimed that Punjab was emerging as the main hub of trade and skilled human resources, and exhorted the expatriates to take advantage of it by investing in the state.

Badal further committed to contribute 75 percent of the funds in any development project taken up by them.

"We have requested the expatriates to contribute in the basic education field, like opening colleges and universities through joint ventures. We have already passed a bill for the private universities, so as to make it more convenient for them. They can also adopt autonomous educational institutes; adopt IITs, for skill training. They can invest in the power or the road sector to improve the infrastructure. If they invest 25percent, then I can assure that 75 percent of the investment of funds will be provided by the state government," he said.

Expatriates who were present in the conference lamented about not being able to get fair deals and good response for the projects they initiate in the state.

"My friends residing abroad complain that when they invest in projects of Punjab, they don't get a good response or a fair deal from here. The bureaucracy over here is very complicated and we are habitual to fair deals abroad. So, we have to face a lot of problems here," said H S Tahli, an expatriate from the United States.

The conference took stock of how the problem of unemployment in the state can be solved in collaboration with the expatriates. There are millions of people who have migrated from Punjab just to have a good job and make a fast buck abroad. (ANI)