All Industries and Trade Forum strongly opposes Punjab Business Policy 2022

Ludhiana, February 3, 2023: All Industries and Trade Forum (AITF) has strongly opposed the Punjab Business Policy 2022. It said “this policy is against the existing 1.5 lakh industries of Punjab which includes 1 lakh small, 40000 medium and 10000 large industries”.

Stating this here today, the AITF’s national president Badish Jindal added that in last 10 years since 2012 to 2022 already two Investment Polices launched by Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress in 2012 and 2017 but both failed to uplift the industries of state.

He said in last 10 years the number of residential power connections increased from 5642850 to 7442330 with an Increase of 17,99,480 new connections. But during the same time (2012 to 2022) the small power connections increased from 90372 to 94412 with an increase of 4040 new connections and medium power connections increased from 26361 to 31486 with an increase of 5125 new connections.

Adding, he said in last 10 years the consumption of small connection increased from 907 million units to 971 million units and similarly the consumption of medium connections merely increased from 1833 million units to 1937 million units.

Further, he said this is showing a true picture of worst condition of existing Industries in which as small industries increased by 0.45% and medium by 1.9% in state.

“In the new industrial policy the benefits of existing industries are fully withdrawn by the government as now they will only get the incremental benefits”, he pointed out.

Jindal said if the government will provide cheap power, payments from 36000 to 44000 per worker, GST benefits upto capital investment and other fiscal benefits to new industries. The existing industries can never compete with the new investors. The year 2023 will see the closure of thousands of existing industries in Punjab those are already suffering due to COVID and international recession.

“The AAP government is repeating the same mistakes as of the SAD and Congress as they done by forming investment policies of 2012 and 2017”, he claimed.

Concluding, he requested the government to withdraw this Investment Policy and come up with a new policy for similar benefits to existing industries.