Major auto giants on Friday appreciated the policy reforms taking place in Punjab, which was all set to polevault to a new era in mobility.During a panel discussion on ‘Future of Mobility in Punjab-Challenges and Opportunities’ at Progressive Punjab Investors Summit-2019, leading auto industry players said the conditions in the state were conducive for investment.Setting the context for the discussion, Principal Secretary-Transport K.Siva Prasad said the state’s industry-friendly policies and skilled labour were key factors in attracting investment in the sector. Prasad highlighted the salient features of the Government’s policy which had attracted hundreds of crores of investment in state during the past two and half years. He shared a detailed presentation about the policies of the state government, wherein subsidies and other help is offered to industrialists investing in Punjab. Naveen Munjal, Managing Director of Hero Electric Vehicles Private Limited, stated that Policy Reforms were indeed taking place in state, thus helping to create a perfect platform for the automobile industry to invest here.Expressing similar views, Kamal Bali, President and Managing Director of Volvo Group, said that the automobile industry has witnessed a sea change during the past just few years. Punjab had the potential to produce more industrial units that could change the scenario in industrial sector, said Bali.
Sharing his ideas about the future of the mobility sector in Punjab, Harjinder Dhaliwal-Managing Director (India and Middle East) Hyperloop One, said that “we are living in an on-demand world where we should focus our attention towards providing on-demand requirements of the market.” He underlined the importance of using high-end technology to ease traffic woes.CFO of SML Isuzu, Gopal Bansal, expressing satisfaction over the industrial policies of the state government, said, “We should look forward to switch over to electric vehicles from the diesel-based battery operated vehicles,” he said.Bicycle Industry tycoon Naveen Munjal said that Punjab provides excellent platform for the growth of industries in theautomobile sector. “Surplus and affordable power, strong base for ancilliary units, skilled manpower and excellent connectivity have contributed to our success. We have planned expansion at our current electric 2W facility at Ludhiana to ramp up production to 5 lakh units annually,” he said. Expressing concern over the increasing number road accidents across the globe, Ramashankar Pandey, Managing Director of Hella, said that innovation in the field of automobile industry can help in reducing such incidents. “76 percent of the Indian automobile industry is two wheeler based and by changing the old mechanism with latest technology we can save people from perishing in road accidents,” Pandey said.Executive Director of JBM Group, Nishant Arya, threw light on the clean policy framework and basic infrastructure to set up automobile industry in state.Richa Sahay, Lead, Automotive Supply Chain and Logistics, World Economic Forum, said that the young generation has the potential of not only manufacturing vehicle components but also solutions to the ever rising congestion and pollution on roads.