Amid the revival in industry sentiment in the state, Hero Cycles has shown interest in setting up a Rs. 400 crore cycle valley, on the lines of IT Silicon Valley, near Sahnewal in Punjab.This was conveyed by Hero Cycles’ Pankaj Munjal at a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh here on Saturday.During the meeting, the Chief Minister asked Mr. Munjal to share a detailed report on the proposal to set up the project, which would include technical and R&D centres, among other critical industry facilities, according to an official spokesperson in the Chief Minister’s Office.Mr. Munjal informed the Chief Minister the project would require about 100 acres of land and would lead to a doubling, from the current 4.5 lakh, of the people involved directly or indirectly in the cycle industry.Captain Amarinder said he was happy to welcome industry into the state for the generation of the much-needed employment, as well as overall development and economic revival. The new industrial policy that his government was working on would give an impetus to industrial development by streamlining the systems and processes for investing in the state, he added.
The Chief Minister told Mr. Munjal his government would extend all possible support to his company to set up business in Punjab, said the spokesperson. He also directed CEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP) Anirudh Tiwari, to take the discussions forward with Hero.Mr. Munjal is the latest among leading industrialists who have evinced interest in investing in Punjab following the positivity injected into the industrial environment in the wake of the change of guard in the state.Among the captains of industry who have personally conveyed their keenness to invest in Punjab to the Chief Minister are Mr. Pranav V Adani of the Adani Group, Reliance ADAG Chairman Mr. Anil Ambai, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman & MD Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons Chairman Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, besides others, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra and Godrej Group are also looking at expanding their business into Punjab in a big way.The Chief Minister had earlier this month undertaken a 3-day visit to Mumbai to meet leading industrialists as part of the state government’s Invest Punjab programme.