Punjab Policy Vision & Mission With an ambition to create employment opportunities and make Punjab an attractive destination

for domestic and foreign investment, the government of state is willing to promote industrial and agricultural growth. Thus, the Government has identified three core areas:

Diversify the agriculture base and promote value addition Promote the development of industrial clusters to strengthen their competitive position Restructure and empower public sector units to maximise their potential value

Key Industries in Punjab

Automotive (mainly tractors) and auto components Bicycles and bicycle parts Chemical products Food products Light engineering goodshand tools, machine tools, electronic items, sewing machines and parts Metal and alloy products Pharmaceuticals Paper and paper products Sports goods Textiles

Industrial Policy 2003 Punjab aims at infrastructure development, lesser number of regulations, and rapid clearance of new projects. Following initiatives are of major importance under this policy.

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 State-level monitoring committees Easy and quick clearance for projects through one-time settlement schemes and Udyog Sahayak Constitution of the Empowered Committee to grant special privileges for projects of significance Value-added tax (VAT) and single point local development tax (LADT) Enhancement of the competitiveness of industrial units through capital subsidy and freight subsidy Infrastructure development through private sector participation Incentives to agro-based industries Notification Textile Policy 2006 Punjab aims at infrastructure development, lesser number of regulations, and rapid clearance of new projects. Following initiatives are of major importance under this policy.

State-level monitoring committees Easy and quick clearance for projects through one-time settlement schemes and Udyog Sahayak Constitution of the Empowered Committee to grant special privileges for projects of significance Value-added tax (VAT) and single point local development tax (LADT) Enhancement of the competitiveness of industrial units through capital subsidy and freight subsidy Infrastructure development through private sector participation Incentives to agro-based industries

Punjab aims at facilitating and promoting growth of textile industry, achieve global standards in product quality, contribute more to exports, and to encourage textile clusters. The chief areas under this policy include: Salient Features
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An Apparel Training and Design Centre has been set up in Ludhiana and participation of the private sector is being encouraged to strengthen apparel-related courses of Industrial Training Institutes and Polytechnics in the state Assistance in land acquisition by the state government for setting up of mega textile units, with provisions Creation of sound infrastructure in the form of textile clusters, apparel parks and integrated textile parks, having all necessary facilities at one place, developed mainly through private sector participation; Maximum investment to be attracted under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) of the Central Government; Reduction in electricity duty to half the existing rate for mega textile projects for a period of fi ve years and full waiver of electricity duty for a period of seven years for mega textile projects in the districts of Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Ferozepur Setting up of new educational and training institutes for making skilled technical workforce available to the industry, with assistance from the Government of India as well as private sector participation. Maximum utilisation of Central Governments Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) Creation of infrastructure through clusters, educational and training institutions Reduction of electricity duty for projects Assistance in land acquisition

Single window Clearance To help entrepreneurs obtain speedy clearances for setting up industry in Punjab, the Government has set up a special cell called Udyog Sahayak (industry facilitator). All knowledge driven industries such as IT, electronics and biotechnology have a separate single window service
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mechanism under Punjab Information and Communication Technology Corporation Ltd. IT Policy 2001 An action plan is being executed to harness the potential benefits offered by IT. The Key initiatives under this policy include:

Improving rural and urban connectivity by setting up a Punjab Wide Area Network Promotion of IT education among students, both at the school and college level Implementation of e-governance projects Regular monitoring of the implementation of the provisions of IT Policy by an IT vision group Monitoring of IT projects in government departments by Empowered Committee on Computerisation (ECC), which also acts as a single window clearance agency for expeditious implementation of IT projects Fiscal sops Setting up of a venture capital fund dedicated to the IT Industry

The State Government has already started an Integrated Citizens Service Project on a pilot basis in Ludhiana. Punjabs IT Policy also provides a range of incentives for IT firms located in the state. These include:

Investment incentive at 30 per cent of the fixed capital investment Exemption from sales tax for a period of 10 years Exemption from electricity duty for a period of 5 years Human resources development grant for a period of 5 years Exemption from stamp duty and registration fee A venture capital fund to support the growth of the IT industry

e-Governance
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Export Promotion and Facilitation The Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) is the nodal agency for promoting exports from the state. PSIEC educates and updates exporters on export procedures, documentation and quality certification. It also assists small enterprises to obtain funding support from central government schemes for marketing and development assistance. Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) restructuring and disinvestment The State Government has undertaken a strategic review of the role of PSEs in the states economic development. Based on this, it has adopted a multi-pronged approach to redefine the role of various PSEs through privatisation and/or restructuring. Of the units earmarked for divestment, the largest among them, Punjab Tractors, was divested in 2003. The Government of Punjab sold its 23.49 per cent stake to CDC Capital Partners for US$ 48 million. The divestment process of four other public sector enterprises is currently underway. These include:

Punjab Tourism Development Corporation Punjab Communication Ltd Punjab State Container and Warehousing Development Corporation Punjab Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd

Infrastructure Policy The Government of Punjab has been actively pursuing private sector investment to create world-class infrastructure and to upgrade the present infrastructure in the state. Its recent initiatives include:

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Setting up the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) in 1998.This is the nodal agency for facilitating private investment in infrastructure across different sectors - roads & highways, urban infrastructure, industrial infrastructure, electricity, health and education Creating a US$ 4.25 million corpus called the Punjab Infrastructure Initiative Fund (PIIF) to finance project development through public private partnership Enacting the Punjab Infrastructure Development Act in 2002 and setting up the Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Authority (PIRA). The State Government recognised that to attract private participation, there was a need for an over-arching legislation to secure a level-playing field for private players, and establishing a transparent regulatory framework governed by an autonomous regulator to grant various concessions and incentives to make projects and investment opportunities viable and attractive. The Act provides the necessary legal and policy framework to facilitate private investment in infrastructure projects Encouraging existing Small Scale Industries (SSIs) to undertake modernisation and technology upgradation to meet the challenges of the WTO regime. The Government has notified a scheme to provide capital subsidy A scheme of freight neutralisation assistance for export units has also been notified, which would neutralise the locational disadvantage of the state to some extent

Biotech Policy 2006 Through this policy, Punjab endeavors to facilitate the growth of biotech industries and development of clean biotech technologies. Key initiatives under this policy include:

Creation of public awareness through workshops and training sessions on application of clean biotech
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technologies Creation of the Punjab Biotech Promotion Board (PBPB) to attract investment in the biotech sector Promotion of public-private partnerships (PPP) in agriculture extension, crop diversification and organic farming in the state Provision for setting up a new biotechnology institute, which will act as a biotechnology development centre to meet R&D, pilot scale testing and validation requirements of the biotechnology industry Setting up of agri-clinics and agri-business centres throughout the state to serve as nodal centres for information dissemination and kisan call centres to provide immediate and fi rst-hand information to farmers

Tourism Policy 2003 Punjab emphasizes on promoting tourism and on developing hospitality infrastructure in collaboration with private sector participation (tourism declared an industry in Punjab in 1996). The key initiatives under this policy include:

Single window clearance facility for approving tourismrelated projects in the state Land allotment to entrepreneurs on easy terms for developing hotels on selective basis Setting up of the Punjab Tourism and Heritage Promotion Board under the chairmanship of the chief minister Constitution of a co-ordination and advisory committee on tourism Incentives to tourism related projects Provision of soft loans for new tourism projects and expansion of existing ones by the PFC and PSIDC

New and Renewable Source of Energy Policy 2006 (NRSE)

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Punjab gives stress on new technologies based on renewable sources of energy and energy conservation. Following are the main areas under this policy.

Power generation though small/micro hydro projects, co-generation of power in industries like sugar, paper, chemicals and fertilisers, and power generation from bio mass, agricultural waste and solar energy Clearances for all projects related to NRSE through single window mechanism Exemption of octroi, purchase of electricity by state as well as provision of land for projects Maintenance of a Renewable Energy Corpus Fund by the Punjab Energy Development Agency to assist and undertake activities towards commercialisation of NRSE projects and programmes.

The Punjab government recently approved the enactment of the New and renewable sources of energy (NRSE) policy2012, which seeks to maximise and improve the share of new and renewable sources of energy to 10 per cent of the total installed power capacity of the state by 2020. Plans are also on to promote renewable energy initiatives, a report in The Times of India said. Approved at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the policy will focus on creating conditions so as to enable private sector investments. Some of the other areas include exemption of stamp duty and registration fee, exemption of Change of Land Use (CLU) fee, external development charges (EDC) or other charges for NRSE projects. It was also decided at the meet that entrepreneurs who wish to establish NRSE projects will be provided with the single window
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facility through the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) the nodal agency for implementation of such projects, to ensure expeditious clearances. It is hoped that the policy will help generate nearly 400 MW power through renewable sources of energy by 2017.

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