Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday claimed that the state attracted investments worth Rs 1.89 lakh crore over the last four years, creating employment potential for 6.31 lakh people. He said Mohali led in new investment proposals at Rs 9,478 crore, followed by Ludhiana at Rs 4,968 crore, Patiala at Rs 2,590 crore and Hoshiarpur at Rs 2,003 crore.During a review meeting of the industries department, Mann said, “The scale of investment reflects the growing confidence of domestic and global investors in Punjab’s industrial ecosystem. Our govt has consistently worked to create a congenial, transparent and investor-friendly business environment.”Mann said several leading companies, including Tata Steel, JSW Steel, AICHI Steels, Vardhman, Nestlé, Hindustan Lever, Cargill, De Heus, HMEL, Santhan Textiles and Freudenberg, had invested in Punjab or expanded their presence in the state.He said Mohali was rapidly transforming into one of Punjab’s principal economic and industrial growth engines and had emerged as the leading district for new investment proposals received through Common Application Forms (CAFs) from 2022-23 to 2026-27.“Mohali and Ludhiana alone accounted for 49.8 per cent of the total investments routed through CAFs during the period, underlining the growing importance of these two cities as major economic centres of Punjab. Mohali’s IT, technology and innovation ecosystem is expanding rapidly. The city is steadily developing into a major technology destination and has the potential to emerge as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’,” Mann said.He said other districts were also contributing significantly to Punjab’s industrial growth. Fatehgarh Sahib attracted investment proposals worth Rs 1,265 crore, followed by Bathinda at Rs 1,248 crore, Kapurthala at Rs 1,037 crore and Jalandhar at Rs 1,003 crore.With the aim of strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Mann said specialised industrial clusters were being promoted in key industrial hubs to provide focused support to MSMEs and allied enterprises.Mohali has been approved for a hi-tech metal cluster, aimed at providing a focused ecosystem for enterprises engaged in advanced metal manufacturing and allied sectors. Ludhiana has been approved for specialised clusters for oil expellers and parts manufacturing, garments and honey processing, while Patiala has been selected for a dedicated cutting tool cluster.“These clusters will enable enterprises to benefit from common infrastructure, modern technology, skill development, economies of scale and better market linkages. Strengthening MSMEs is crucial because these enterprises play a major role in generating employment, nurturing entrepreneurship and supporting large industries through robust local supply chains,” Mann said.
