Leyland group set to clinch Punjab deal

The Leyland group's negotiations for setting up a unit in Punjab with another leading group are in advanced stages, according to a senior Punjab government official.

The proposed facility, which will produce light armoured vehicles, will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore.

These were part of the state government's efforts to attract big industries, which would boost the prospects of ancillary industries and also create employment opportunities for the local youth, the official said.

Underlining the change in the industrial environment, the officials said, "Hardly any day passes when we do not get any proposal from the entrepreneurs to set up industry in the Punjab".

In the last two years, the state government has cleared 37 mega projects worth Rs 10,000 crore, of which units of companies like Quark, Dell, and Trident have become operational in the last six months.

To give the industrialisation a further push, the state government has decided to hold the meeting of the empowered committee, set up to evaluate proposals for setting up industries, twice in a month instead of once a month. It would help in the speedy clearance of the pending projects, the official added.

Earlier speaking in Ludhiana on Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Punjab was a heading towards industrialisation in a big way, as the renowned industrial houses from the country as well as abroad had evinced keen interest to set up their ventures in the state.

Industry was the only answer to tackle the growing menace of unemployment as around 2 million youth, 8 per cent of the total population of the state, were unemployed, the chief minister said.

None of the modern state could expect to develop its economy only on agriculture, he said, and added it would have to develop its industrial base.

The state's growth rate had witnessed an upsurge from 1.3 per cent to 5.6 per cent, the industrial production and exports had gone up by 120 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively, the chief minister said. Similarly, the sales tax collection had also registered a rise of 15.5 per cent, first time after a gap of two decade.