
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed betweenPunjab and the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM India) today formutual cooperation on Investment Promotion and Ease of Doing Business in Punjabfor US Member Companies during 29th AGM of the AMCHAM India.
The MoU was signed by CEO, Invest Punjab, Mr. RajatAgarwal and Program Director, AMCHAM India, Wg. Cdr. Rajiv Anand in thepresence of Principal Secretary, Investment Promotion, Mr. Hussan Lal. The MoUis a first that AMCHAM India has done with any State in the country and entailsformation of a Joint Working Group (JWG), having members from Invest Punjab andAMCHAM INDIA, that shall work to support and develop investment cooperation, aswell as for enhancing ease of doing business in Punjab, India and USA.
Giving a presentation on the investment opportunities inthe state for the USA companies across multiple sectors that havecomplementarities with USA, Invest Punjab CEO, Mr Rajat Agarwal, highlightedthat the State has served as a launchpad to renowned MNCs who looked to starttheir India operations. Inviting the USA enterprises to Punjab, Mr. Agarwal highlightedthe opportunities for investment or collaboration with Punjab-based companiesin multiple sectors such as agriculture and food processing, technicalengineering, textile and pharma. The investor-friendly ecosystem has allowedthe Punjab government to receive more than USD 12 Billion of investments thatare under various stages of implementation, he added.
Mr. Agarwal also dwelled upon the high impact businessreforms such as Right to Business Act 2020, Deemed Approvals, CentralInspection System amongst other that have been undertaken by the StateGovernment to reduce time and cost incurred by businesses.
Invest Punjab CEO further said that USA is one of thefocus 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 choosenPunjab as their preferred Investment destination. Immense opportunities acrossdiversified sectors do exist for collaboration between USA and Punjab basedenterprises.
Established in 2013 by the state government, the PunjabBureau of Investment Promotion (Invest Punjab) is a single point of contact forfacilitation of investors who are looking to set up a business inPunjab."Invest Punjab has been rated as the ''top-performing'' state IPAby the Government of India, said Mr. Agarwal.
Principal Secretary Investment Promotion, Mr. Hussan Lal,highlighted the conducive business ecosystem and progressive step undertaken bythe State, which is home to more than 20 USA business establishments. Besides,he also showcased Punjab as an attractive destination to USA companies lookingto diversify their operations in South East Asia. Mentioning the sectoralstrengths in the state, he focused on various factors congenial to investmentin Punjab such as peaceful labour relations, lucrative incentives with nodomicile constraint.
Inviting the captains of the Industry to the upcoming'Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, 2021', he enlightened the audience thatGovernment of Punjab in its endeavor of inclusive and holistic developmentneeds active representation of business leaders on 26th and 27th October, 2021.
Major B.S. Kohli, Advisor Invest Punjab, informed thatPunjab has come a long way to shed its image of only an agrarian State and nowhas been looked upon by many industrial destinations as a force to reckon with.The State has seen some meaningful investment in last 4.5 years due to thebusiness-friendly progressive policies and good governance of the ChiefMinister Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government. "It is theinquisitiveness of the State that make us good learners and we would love to betested by businesses", he said.
Present at the event, the top management of Pepsico,Google, John Deere, Baush & Lomb amongst other renowned US companiesunivocally showed confidence in State’s unmatched growth and inclusivedevelopment of all. Highlighting the "pro-industry atmosphere" in thestate, captains of the industry stated that Punjab is slated to become a lighthousestate in the ease of doing business.
epsico President, Ahmed ElSheikh and John Deere DirectorCorporate Affair, Mukul Varshney shared their experience of operating inPunjab. Sanjay Bhutani, Managing Director commended the strides State has madein building formidable Healthcare Infrastructure and extended his support fordeploying self-sustainable model to further the MedTech sector in the State.