Terming that memoranda of understanding (MoUs) obsolete, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said his government was currently signing MoDS (memorandum of dil se) with industrialists to give a fillip to industrial development in the state.
Addressing a gathering at the valedictory function on the second day of the Progressive Punjab investors Summit, the chief minister said: “MoDS is a sacred agreement directly from heart and is totally based on mutual trust and zeal to make Punjab a front runner in the industrial sector.”
He said that the earlier practice of forcefully signing MoUs by arm twisting industrialists had withered away.
The chief minister also announced that the state government will organise sectoral summits every quarter to give a further boost to industry. “The move will also help in giving a much needed push to the sectoral development of industries in the state,” the chief minister said.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to make Punjab a vibrant, progressive and prosperous state, Mann said, “From day one, my motive is to create more and more jobs for the youth to wean them away from drug menace by channelling their energy in a positive direction.”
Mann said Punjab has the most conducive environment for industrial growth. He reiterated his government’s commitment to emerge as a global healthcare hub.
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He said that in a major push to medical education, the state government has decided to construct 16 medical colleges in the next five years that will raise the tally of medical colleges in the state to 25, ensuring that every district has a medical college.
“On the one hand it will provide quality medical education to the students and, on the other hand, it will help in imparting world class healthcare facilities to people,” Mann said
The chief minister said the 117 schools of eminence being set up by the state government would enable students to excel in academics. He said that these schools will act as catalysts to transform the lives of students by giving a new direction to their lives.
Chairing the session “Textile in Punjab – Policy, Infrastructure, Linkages & Trends”, Aman Arora, minister of housing and urban development and information and public relations, offered all kinds of support including a personalised task force to the industrialists.
“Industrialists can form a task force in which they can pick the government officers as per their choice, so that their issues could be resolved at the earliest,” he said, while assuring that water charges will also be reduced as per the demand of the industry.
Arora urged the industrialists to come up with out-of-the-box ideas for industrial revolution in the state and said the Mann government would welcome them with open arms.
On the manpower front, the minister said Punjab has 11 major specialised research institutes engaged in the textile sector. Besides, there were over 350 ITIs offering over 70 courses, including textile and apparel sector courses, with an intake capacity of about 80,000 students.
Additionally, there are more than 1,000 skill development centres in the state with a total training capacity of 60,000. Under the textile and apparel sector, Punjab Skill Development Mission (PSDM) has empaneled 250 training partners.
