Punjab gets investment proposals worth Rs 1.15 lakh crore

MOHALI: Investments worth Rs 1.15 lakh crore were pledged today at the Progressive Punjab Investors' Summit.

"378 companies signed MoUs involving an investment of Rs 1.15 lakh crore at the event," Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said here today.

Badal said Mohali will emerge as an electronic hub with Videocon announcing to invest Rs 500 crore to set up a mobile and set top box manufacturing facility here.

Besides, jewellery maker Gitanjali would establish a jewellery park at Amritsar at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore, he added.

Uber will train 45,000 drivers in Punjab during next 3 years while HDFC Bank will shift its IT operations to Mohali and will also provide skill training to youth, Badal said.

He added that Apollo Hospitals will set up a world class facility in Amritsar and that work on the project would start by April next year.

He said the government would also tie up with Apollo to conduct health mapping of its citizens.

He announced a startup fund of Rs 100 crore to encourage young entrepreneurs to come with new ideas.

"Today, you do not need millions you need ideas," he said.

The Deputy CM also gave a call for all "born in Punjab" industrialists to invest back in their state in case they have settled out of Punjab or abroad.

He said he would approach all such industrial heads in the near future and urge them to put up their units in the state of their birth.

Badal said major players were moving to Punjab besides committing to involve themselves in the skill development drive initiated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

He said special emphasis was being laid on training girl students and that the government was starting 50 colleges in rural areas to train girls in various vocations.

Sukhbir said the colleges would be run by all the three Universities in the state and would train at least 500 girls in each college.

Sukhbir said the state government's initiative of governance reforms and e-Sewa kendras was an example worth emulating where more than 200 citizen services will be provided at the doorstep.

"My aim is to make Punjab online from inline by April 13", he said, adding that citizens could also avail these services from their homes by October next year.