Punjab industry - Industrial Products

CMYKPUNJABgearing up for industryThe SAD-BJP government has drawn a blue print for ensuring overall development andwelfare of all sections of society. Power, infrastructure, civil aviation, education, skilldevelopment, medical education and health care, governance reforms and welfare of theunder-privileged sections of society are on the top of the government's agenda. The year2011 will be significant as it will herald the fructification of landmark projects, therebyputting Punjab on a higher growth trajectory.– Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal158 PURCHASE February 2011

PunjabState MonitorOn January 27, this year Bill Gates’Indian company, Gates India,announced that it was putting in a $7 millioninvestment in a mixing plant at Lalru inPunjab. This unit would help meet thechallenges of the hydraulic market andenhance its capacity of rubber compoundmanufacturing. This was just anotherinstance of a global investor expressing aninterest in Punjab .India’s granary, Punjab, has never beenknown for its industry; it has been wellknownfor the industriousness of its people.All that is changing in Punjab though;possibly prompted by the fact that not all iswell with the state of agriculture in theregion and that industry has its own charms.Given that Punjab’s advanced state ofagriculture had necessitated first classinfrastructure and the other accoutrementsof a progressive and economicallyprosperous state, Punjab did not have tostart from scratch. It had Chandigarh as itscapital, designed by Le Corbusier, architectpar excellence, who gave the state afabulously modern capital for the times inwhich it was made. It continues to impress.Getting preparedThe infrastructure has been in themaking for a long time. What Punjab alsodid was understand the shortcomings of itsnatural resources: it is poorly endowed withminerals and, therefore, it had to focus onindustries that could do without them.Cotton textile, sugar, dairy, sports goods,hosiery (flourish industry with excellentexport achievements) and engineeringgoods (bicycles and tractors, especially, forwhich it has a huge domestic market) havebeen Punjab’s answer: not huge steel plants.Thus, even for an agrarian economy,industry has been playing its part in the stateeven before the current rush ofindustrialization. (see chart onindustrialization till 2001).Had there been no industry, Punjabwould not have attracted industriallabourers. There are an estimated 25 lakhBihari workers in the state mainly around theindustry centres around Amritsar, Bhatinda,Ludhiana and Jalandhar; there are some 10lakh migrants in Ludhiana alone. Thesehardworking people are sometimesassaulted by the locals causing problems forindustrial employers but this does provideevidence that people in search of jobs haveconsidered Punjab a hospitable destination.Given the warning bells around theagriculture prospects, Punjab has come upFor the first time since Independence aconcrete initiative has been taken forgovernance reforms to make day-to-dayadministration responsive, accountableand transparent. These reforms are aimedat eliminating various outdated andcumbersome procedures for which peoplehad to face undue harassment ingovernment offices. These governancereforms in terms of computerisation ofland records and simplification of archaicrevenue acts will not only be public friendlybut also change the perception of thecommon man about the functioning ofgovernment offices. – Parkash Singh BadalFebruary 2011PURCHASE 159

PunjabState Monitorfrom the grassroots to the higher levels ofeducation. A leading state in terms ofproviding infrastructure and facilities toprimary and upper primary schools basedon EDI (2009) by NUEPA, Punjab has the 6thposition as per all the India Education Index.Some of the significant features are:Strong school education networkwith 19,608 govt. schools and 1,518 privateschools with government schoolscontributing 92 per cent to school educationEducation through EDUSAT beingprovided to students of secondary schoolsAround Rs 780 crores are beingspent on primary school education underSarva Shiksha Abhiyan117 Adarsh Schools for providingquality education to rural studentsInfrastructure in 351 schools beingupgraded under NABARD project at Rs 141croresLaunch of the ICT programme acrossall state schools to improve computerliteracy under which computer educationhas been made compulsory from class VI5,939 computer labs set up in allupper primary schools with internetconnectivityApproval for 21 model schools ineducationally backward districts of the stateby MHRD119 schools are being set up underpublic private partnership mode.Establishment of Pushpa GujralScience City jointly by the Government ofIndia and Punjab to inculcate scientificaptitude in young students.Punjab also has a strong educationnetwork with 13 universitiesIn excess of 16,000 students enrolledin the state’s 75 postgraduate colleges anduniversitiesA strong higher education networkwith 55 government, 136 aided and 188private colleges.3 well established universitiesincluding the Guru Nanak Dev University3 New degree colleges ineducationally backward districtsGTT Pilot Project (Global Talent Track)being implemented.Live broadcast of lectures through theEdusat NetworkThe Chief Minister is convinced that hehas been able to push “Punjab into the nextgeninfrastructure development era. Majorinitiatives have been taken to revamp thenetwork of roads involving an investment ofover Rs 25,000 crores. Besides, the New Yearwill also witness the linking of everyimportant city in the state with four-six laneroads, besides the completion of 33 ROBsRUBs initiated at the cost of Rs 7,073 crores”.In terms of air connectivity, Punjab shouldsoon become one of the few Indian states tohave three international airports with the anew international civil air terminal at Mohaliand another Rs 17,000-crore GreenfieldInternational Airport planned near Ludhianaand another that is already there at SriAmritsar Sahib.With human resources having beenattended to, today the state talks of366 approved mega projectsincluding 133 manufacturing projectsProposed 31 new industrial clusters atLudhiana, Malerkotla, Moga, Jalandhar,Mandi Gobindgarh, Malout & MohaliFebruary 2011PURCHASE 161

State MonitorPunjabProposed Integrated IndustrialTownship on 1,500 acres by DLF atMullanpur with investment of Rs 2,700croresProposed Railway Wagons Plant atFatehgarh Sahib with investment of Rs 330croresRoads to prosperityPunjab’s quest for all round economicexcellence begins with the establishment ofa robust physical infrastructure for humanresource development and communications:Its road, rail and air connections have beendescribed as amongst the best in India bythe National Council of Applied EconomicResearch (NCAER). The roadways networkmakes Punjab the first state in India with 100per cent connectivity to rural areas withmetalled roads. Other significant projects4 laning of Chandigarh-Patiala-Sangrur-Barnala Bathinda ExpresswayJalandhar-Pathankot ExpresswayunderconstructionAmritsar-Pathankot Expressway .There is equal focus on the railways and,indeed, Punjab has the fourth highest raildensity among all states and UnionTerritories in India with a railway line lengthof 2,134 km that connects it efficiently withthe rest of the country. The proximity toDelhi/NCR is an additional advantage. Thereis, besides, theProposed development of DedicatedFreight Corridor (DFC) project on the easterncorridor (Rs 11,589 crores) starting fromLudhiana till Sonnagar/DankuniProposed development of railway linebetween Chandigarh-Ludhiana by 2011Around 27 railway bridges nearingcompletion and 26 proposed to be built inthe next two yearsDedicated Freight Corridor (Eastern)Finally, its air connectivity seeks to makethe state one of the finest and easilyaccessible tourist as well as businessdestination among South AsianInternational Airports.These are all factors taken into accountby the World Bank assessors that viewedPunjab in a very favourable light. Indeed,Punjab’s credentials as a front-rankingindustrial state were established by noneother than the World Bank.include:6-laning of Shambu-JalandharExpressway underway4-laning of six other major highwaysState-of-the-art Ludhiana CityExpressway with a project outlay of Rs 400crores45 RoBs (20 at execution stage and 25at planning stage) with project outlay of Rs700 croresCompletion of nine road projects at acost of Rs 653 croresDevelopment of Delhi–MumbaiIndustrial Corridor extension to LudhianaProposed Expressway at LudhianaConnecting NH- 95 to NH-1 on west ofLudhiana6-laning of Panipat-Jalandharhighway underway4-laning of Jalandhar - Amritsarhighway completed4-laning of Ambala-Zirakpur highwayprovides smooth and quick connectivity toState Capital ChandigarhKudos from the World BankIn its year 2009 report, the World Bankranked leading Indian cities in terms of theInstitutional Index created by it. Of the 17cities indexed, Ludhiana in Punjab is on top(see chart) though in terms of ease of getting162 PURCHASE February 2011

PunjabState Monitorconstruction permits, the city is amongst thetop 10 but not the top five. The Bank alsonotes that the total taxes payable as percent of profits are the lowest in Punjab.Leading Investment Destination, IndiaToday’s ‘State of the States Survey’ hasranked Punjab as the Best State for fourconsecutive years (2007-2010), in terms of:InfrastructureConsumer marketsAgriculturePower surplus by 2013Another laudable feature of Punjab is itsself-sufficiency in power. It has both thermaland hydroelectric power projects as itssources courtesy its rivers like the Sutlej andprojects like the Bhakra-Nangal powerproject, Guru Nanak Power project andRopar Power project. Mr Badal says: “Onthe power front, our government hasfocussed its attention on making Punjab apower surplus state by generatingadditional capacity of 9,494 mws. To fulfilthis commitment, work has alreadycommenced at the thermal plants nearTalwandi Sabo (2,640 MW), Goindwal Sahib(540 mw) and Rajpura (2100 mw). An MoUand a power purchase agreement for thethermal plant at Gidderbaha (2,640 mw) hasbeen signed with NTPC for execution as aregional power station”.The state plans to become powersurplus by 2013 and it has distinguisheditself by having one of the lowest industrialtariff in the country. It is supporting itspower infrastructure by both major andminor projects, including29 mini biomass power plantssanctioned with a capacity of 700 MWHaving Asia’s biggest solar powerproject in Hoshiarpur by the Punjab EnergyDevelopment Agency (PEDA)Projects under implementationinclude: Talwandi Sabo 2,600 MW Rajpura2,100 MW Goindwal Sahib 540 MWGidderbaha 2,640 MW Mansa 1,340 MWOn the one hand the Chief Minister waspromising a refinery and on the otherlargely enhanced sources of power supply:Year 2011 “will witness the commissioningof Rs 20,000 crores Bathinda refinery.Besides, the dedication of five thermal plantsbeing built at a combined cost of Rs 62,000crores will put Punjab state on a higherpedestal of growth apart from opening newvistas of employment for Punjabi youththrough skill development initiatives”.Wooing industryPunjab made its serious moves to wooindustry with its Industrial Policy of 2003. Itrealized the need to harness the synergies inagriculture and industry through agriculturebased industry and also to take advantage ofthe emerging services sector and theprospects of globalisedtrade and commerce thatopened out prospects ofknowledge basedindustry.To create a climatefor investment throughinfrastructure creationreduced regulations andgeneral facilitation.To rejuvenate andmake competitive existingindustry, particularly in thesmall-scale sector throughimproved technology, product quality andmarketing.To create a special thrust in the areaswhere Punjab has an edge in terms of costand competitiveness.It realised that IT and IT empoweredservices would be its forte and would helpplace governance on a modern footing.Today Punjab seeks to connect the remotestrural areas with the internet. It is setting upe-governance facilities to ensure lowerresponse time of the administration on theone hand and easier and direct access of thepeople to the government. It alsohas given an excellent accountof itself in terms of supportinfrastructure for thespread of IT:Highest telephonedensity of 47 per centcompared to nationalaverage of 20 per cent in 2007-08Highest per capita cellularconnectivity with more than 12 millioncellular phone subscribers in 2007-08Extensive Optic Fibre Cable (OFC)Network of 25,000 route kms in all towns/villages with more than 5,000 populationEstablishment of dedicated STPIsatellite earth station operational at Mohaliand Jalandhar by VSNL and one proposed inPatiala.To continue to provide impetus of theFebruary 2011PURCHASE 163

State MonitorPunjabright kind, Punjab stepped on the pedal withinitiatives like:Notification of Industrial Policy 2009with a major thrust on IT/ITES sectorMega Projects Policy for IT Parks (Rs100 crores or more) and IT/ITES Units (Rs 25crores or more than 500 employees)Enactment of State SEZ Act, 2009Super Mega Industrial Park Policy forprojects exceeding 250 acres and Rs 1,000-crore investment.Industrial Facilitation Act, 2005There is equal focus on promotingscience and technology through providingan infrastructure for innovation that isexpected to be Punjab’s strongest asset in allspheres of economic activity. These includeresearch laboratories, institutes of highereducation and developing a highly skilledhuman resource base. The key role oftechnology as an important element ofdevelopment is also well recognized.TourismFinally,Punjab isseeking to makegood use of itstourismpotential,including ecotourism, andnot just focus on being a centre for religioustourism. Major tourism projects include:Promotion of a mega tourism projectfor development of Amritsar city along withthe development of Fort Gobindgarh and aheritage village in AmritsarImplementation of TourismDevelopment Master Plan 2008-2023 byUnited Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO)Punjab Luxury Train has beenintroduced5 Star & Luxury Hotel projects underdevelopment namely of Taj Group, RadissonGroup, Hampshire Group and such othersInitiatives in Tourism such as EcoTourism Projects, Farm tourism andupgradation of roadside eateriesThere are 60 star hotels locatedmainly in Amritsar, Jalandhar and LudhianaProposed 7 star hotel by HampshireGroup of Hotels and Resorts at AmritsarProposed luxury hotel by JW Marriotgroup of hotels in AmritsarProposed Courtyard by Marriott’s atAmritsar by 20135 star hotels at Amritsar and Bathindaand a 3 Star hotel at Amritsar on PPP basisHotel-cum-convention centre with 300rooms and 5,000 seating capacity is alsoproposed at MohaliThe state has signed an agreement withthe United Nations World TourismOrganization (UNWTO), which includesissues related to improved tourismorganization and governance; thedevelopment of a promotional brand,development of tourism circuits and asound, effective and targeted marketingstrategy; and, the development of pilottourism development and managementprojects in Nangal, Patiala, Kapurthala andSultanpur Lodhi. Some of the major touristattractions in the state are Jallianwala Bagh,the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Ludhianafamous for its hosiery and woollen goods164 PURCHASEFebruary 2011

PunjabState Monitorwhich are exported all over the world.In the current consumerism context, nostate quite makes the grade unless there areflourishing malls. Punjab has earned thesobriquet of being the ‘Mall Capital of India’,accounting for 3.3 per cent of the country’stotal private consumption expenditure at Rs66,000 crores in 2007-08. Today the staterepresents a Higher purchasing power of Rs1,022 per person per month than thenational average of Rs 636. Interestingdevelopments on the mall front include theestablishment of Bharti-Walmart outlets inAmritsar & Zirkpur; the proposeddevelopment of Metro Cash & Carry atZirakpur, Ludhiana and Jalandhar with aninvestment of Rs 900 crores and theproposed development of retail malls,shopping centres by DLF Group, AnsalGroup and Spirit Global Constructions andsuch others.Sure-footed growthGiven such quality and quantity ofgrowth and growth-propelling initiatives,Punjab has become not just a sought afterinvestment destination but its exports toohave grown at a CAGR of 14.82 per centfrom Rs 7,014 crores (2002-03) to Rs 17,000crores (2009-10). IT, textiles, chemicals andpetrochemicals, apparels and biotechnologywill provide the new face of Punjab. Theproblems are far from over though; povertyand rural deprivation stillhaunt the state; its financesstill need attending to. Whatinspires hope is the scale ofrebuilding operations that thestate has embarked upon.This is an endeavour thatthrows up investmentopportunities in every aspectof the economy. The recentNon-Resident Indianconvention saw participationfrom over 100 NRIs of Punjaborigin from across the globe,including USA, U.K., France,Canada, Netherlands andNorway, apart from topcorporates attending. With theprivate sector participating inthe sense of excitement thatall this has engendered, onebelieves that Punjab willovercome. As Mr Badal says:“Our aims are clear, our visionis focussed and our approachis firm and sure-footed”.February 2011PURCHASE 165