Buoyed over the firming up of over Rs 65000 crore investment by 117 companies during the Progressive Punjab Investor Summit, the Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today made his firm resolve to leave no stone unturned to ensure timely execution of Memorandum of Commitments (MoCs) so as to showcase Punjab as the most favored investment destination not within the country but across the globe.
Addressing the illustrated gathering on the valedictory function of two-day summit, the Chief Minister applauded the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal for his vision and passion to herald industrial revolution in the state. Mr. Badal said that he was a proud father of having such a talented son, who had dreamt of putting the state on the top of industrial map and this successfully concluded summit was reflective of his unflinching commitment to transform this dream into reality. He said that Punjab which was proudly known as the ‘granary and sword arm of India’ had been blatantly ignored by the centre, which has ever meted out a step motherly treatment to the state.
Extending a red carpet welcome to the industry in the state, the Chief Minister said that the state government was always open for new ideas and innovations to boost up the industrial growth in Punjab. He said that with the conclusion of this summit the process of industrialization in the state has been set up in motion. Mr. Badal asked all the industrialists, big, small and medium, to play a pro-active role in overall development of the state by regularly interacting with him to revitalize the industry in Punjab. He welcomed the industrialists to even call up him on telephone or meet him personally related to any problem or hardship being faced by them at any stage of implementation of project.
The Chief Minister said that after the summit, now it was the bounden duty of the state government to honor their commitments by fulfilling the promises made to potential investors because he has ever accorded the highest priority to an element of credibility in public life. Mr. Badal said that he was highly enlightened with one to one discussions with the top industrialists, who flagged up their issues before him besides suggesting new ideas especially in the field of Skill development training program, healthcare and education in the rural sector. The Chief Minister desired such process of deliberations or having dialogue with the cross section of industry must be organized on regular basis to update the government to enable it to fine tune its policies according to the felt need of the industry. The Chief Minister lauded the enterprising spirit of Punjabis which had made them vibrant community across the world for which they had many firsts to their credit. He recalled that majority of top honchos of industry who attended the summit were Punjabis. Mr. Badal said that Punjabis could play a decisive role in the nation’s development and prosperity by emerging India as a world’s leading country amongst comity of nations in the world.
The Chief Minister bemoaned that India, which was once known as ‘Golden Sparrow’ had been gradually ruined due to massive poverty, unemployment, starvation, inflation and illiteracy. In this context he exhorted the Punjabis to play a vanguard role in reviving the lost glory of the country at the world level because he was confident that one day progressive Punjab would lead the country. Mr. Badal in a humorous mood asked Deputy Chief Minister to closely monitor the execution of the investment of over Rs 65000 crore made by nearly 117 companies by giving a slogan ‘Bhaag Punjab Bhaag’ meaning thereby chase unlimited opportunities by attracting huge investments. He categorically asked the Deputy Chief Minister to ensure that these investments should not merely remain on the papers but should be actually concretized and come on the ground.
Thanking the investors for their overwhelming response in the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Investment Promotion Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that it is matter of record that no state in the country has been able to organize summit of such a level in short span of three months. He said that as per initial data over 117 companies have signed Memorandum of Commitments for making investments to the tune of over Rs. 65000 crore. He said Investor Summit would be annual event that would also keep pressure on the state government for having reality check on announcements made in the last summit besides chartering future course of accelerated development. He said he was hopeful that next summit after one year would attract double investment than this year.
Bowing his head to Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal for his able guidance and putting the state government on the right path, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that he was fortunate to have learnt alphabets of politics, administration, management from a statesman like Mr. Parkash Singh Badal. Describing Mr. Badal as Harvard University of ‘Politics and Administration’, the Deputy CM said that every moment you spend in the company of Chief Minister makes you learn such lessons that no university in this planet could ever offer even during their five year course.
Deputy Chief Minister said that following the command of Parkash Singh Badal, he has made a mission to make Punjab No. 1 state of the country first and then make it No. 1 in the world. He said going by the response that state has received in investors meeting at such a short notice, he was confident of realizing this dream of Badal in the coming years.Offering his gratitude to the investors for reposing faith in the development policies of the state, the Deputy Chief Minister said that your memorandum of commitment has put an added responsibility on the state government to realize our collective dreams in a time bound manner. He said that he was happy that state government teams with representatives of industrial houses were already fanning the length and breadth of the state identifying the right location for industrial ventures and fulfilling all responsibilities for early execution of 117 projects.
Speaking on the occasion Industries Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said that this summit would prove to be milestone in ushering an era of industrial development in the state and expressed gratitude to the investors and entrepreneurs who committed investments during the summit. Others who spoke on the occasion included business tycoons Mr. Ness Wadia, Mr. Rajinder Gupta, Mr. Kamal Oswal, Mr. Vineet Nayyar, Mr. Kurush Grant and Dean Indian School of Business Mr. Ajit Rangnekar. Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia, Advisor to Chief Minister on National and Media Affairs Mr. Harcharan Bains, Media Advisor to Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Jangveer Singh, Chief Secretary Mr. Rakesh Singh, Principal Secretary Industries Mr. Karan Avtar Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. SK Sandhu, Special Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, Mr. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and Mr. Ajoy Kumar Sharma.