PPIS 2019: UK country session underlines importance of innovation to boost growth in Punjab
PPIS 2019: Innovation is the key for the growth of Punjab, and there is no dearth of investment to further boost the economy of the state. These views were expressed by key speakers at the UK Country Session on the first day of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit. The discussions spanned possible avenues of collaboration across multiple sectors, including agriculture, food processing, textile and apparel sector, machine and hand tools, farm-tools manufacturing, automobile, bicycle components, sports goods, light engineering sector, metallurgy sector and renewable power. In her opening remarks and context setting, Additional Chief Secretary-Cooperation-Government of Punjab, Kalpana Mittal Baruah highlighted the industrial policy of the state. She said that the policy was not only proving to be instrumental in providing congenial atmosphere to set up industry in Punjab but was also aiding the state’s growth. “Peaceful atmosphere, abundance of skilled workforce and Rs 5 per unit power brought an investment of more than Rs 50,000 crores in Punjab,” Baruah said. She also talked about the historic and socio-economic relationships between Punjab and UK to further strengthen the industrial ties between both the nations. Speaking about the ties between Punjab and UK, Director General of UK Trade and Investment-India, Crispin Simon termed Punjab as the best place for industrial investment. He spoke about biotechnology, skill development and setting up stores of rice in Punjab, and also appreciated the role of Punjab Government in addressing the problem of stubble burning. Director of UK India Business Council, Divya Dwivedi talked about the Federal Structure, attractive market of Punjab, and the socio-economic relationship of Punjab with UK. She pointed out UK was home to one of the largest Punjabi diaspora in the world. She also talked about collaboration between the UK and Punjab in aerospace, defense, data managing, innovation center and automobile sector. Also Read | Bus hits traffic cop at Chandigarh’s Kali Bari light point [VIDEO] Sharing his ideas about the new opportunities in making daily need materials for the Indian market, CFO of the Hindustan Unilever, Srinivas Phatak said that investment in Punjab helps in catering to the need of the market of North India. “Our past and recent experience of investing in Punjab has proved helpful in the overall growth of our company,” he said. Dr. Manoj Raje, Director of CSIR-IMTECH, stressed on the need for microbial based research in soil, water and pollution for bringing more industrial units in Punjab. CEO & CMD of Tynor Orthotics-P J Singh talked about innovation in the field of health and threw light upon wearable electronics in attaining good health. He also shared his past experiences of starting joint ventures with foreign companies, and stated that there was ample scope for innovation in the field of healthcare. Talking about the opportunities in the field of education, Professor Philip Plowden, Vice Chancellor of Birmingham City University, stressed upon the need for collaboration between the universities of Punjab and UK. “This collaboration would result in scaling new heights in the field of education,” he said. -PTC News
