Chandigarh, September 4:
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Punjab and the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM India) today for mutual cooperation on Investment Promotion and Ease of Doing Business in Punjab for US Member Companies during the 29th AGM of the AMCHAM India.
The MoU was signed by CEO, Invest Punjab, Mr. Rajat Agarwal, and Program Director, AMCHAM India, Wg. Cdr. Rajiv Anand in the presence of Principal Secretary, Investment Promotion, Mr. Hussan Lal. The MoU is the first that AMCHAM India has done with any State in the country and entails the formation of a Joint Working Group (JWG), having members from Invest Punjab and AMCHAM INDIA, that shall work to support and develop investment cooperation, as well as for enhancing the ease of doing business in Punjab, India, and the USA.
Giving a presentation on the investment opportunities in the state for the USA companies across multiple sectors that have complementarities with the USA, Invest Punjab CEO, Mr. Rajat Agarwal, highlighted that the State has served as a launchpad to renowned MNCs who looked to start their India operations. Inviting the USA enterprises to Punjab, Mr. Agarwal highlighted the opportunities for investment or collaboration with Punjab-based companies in multiple sectors such as agriculture and food processing, technical engineering, textile, and pharma. The investor-friendly ecosystem has allowed the Punjab government to receive more than USD 12 Billion of investments that are under various stages of implementation, he added.
Mr. Agarwal also dwelled upon the high impact business reforms such as Right to Business Act 2020, Deemed Approvals, Central Inspection System amongst others that have been undertaken by the State Government to reduce time and cost incurred by businesses.
Invest Punjab CEO further said that the USA is one of the focus countries for the Government of Punjab to promote Industrialization, Trade & Commerce. More than 20 American firms such as Amazon, Walmart, Quark, Cargill, Tyson, John Deere, Gates, Schreiber, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Teleperformance, Compu-Vision Consulting, Netsmartz Infotech have chosen Punjab as their preferred Investment destination. Immense opportunities across diversified sectors do exist for collaboration between the USA and Punjab-based enterprises.
Established in 2013 by the state government, the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (Invest Punjab) is a single point of contact for facilitation of investors who are looking to set up a business in Punjab.”Invest Punjab has been rated as the ”top-performing” state IPA by the Government of India, said Mr. Agarwal.
Principal Secretary Investment Promotion, Mr. Hussan Lal, highlighted the conducive business ecosystem and progressive step undertaken by the State, which is home to more than 20 USA business establishments. Besides, he also showcased Punjab as an attractive destination to USA companies looking to diversify their operations in South East Asia. Mentioning the sectoral strengths in the state, he focused on various factors congenial to investment in Punjab such as peaceful labor relations, lucrative incentives with no domicile constraint.
Inviting the captains of the Industry to the upcoming ‘Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, 2021’, he enlightened the audience that the Government of Punjab in its endeavor of inclusive and holistic development needs active representation of business leaders on the 26th and 27th October 2021.
Major B.S. Kohli, Advisor Invest Punjab, informed that Punjab has come a long way to shed its image of only an agrarian State and now has been looked upon by many industrial destinations as a force to reckon with. The State has seen some meaningful investment in the last 4.5 years due to the business-friendly progressive policies and good governance of the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Government. “It is the inquisitiveness of the State that makes us good learners and we would love to be tested by businesses”, he said.
Present at the event, the top management of Pepsico, Google, John Deere, Bausch & Lomb amongst other renowned US companies univocally showed confidence in the State’s unmatched growth and inclusive development of all. Highlighting the “pro-industry atmosphere” in the state, captains of the industry stated that Punjab is slated to become a lighthouse state in the ease of doing business.
Pepsico President, Ahmed ElSheikh and John Deere Director Corporate Affair, Mukul Varshney shared their experience of operating in Punjab. Sanjay Bhutani, Managing Director commended the strides State has made in building formidable Healthcare Infrastructure and extended his support for deploying a self-sustainable model to further the MedTech sector in the State.
