Rahul Ahuja takes over as Chairman CII Punjab

Ludhiana: “We have been able to capitalise on an investment of around 57 thousand crores in the last three years owing to the concerted efforts of the State Government, said Mr Sibin C, Director - Industries & Commerce, Government of Punjab, while addressing a Session on Ease of Doing Business in Punjab, held as part of CII Punjab State Annual Session at the CII Northern Region headquarters, today.
 
We are happy to share that compared to the last ranking of Punjab, this year we are expecting a quantum jump in the ranking. We have also brought in ‘The Right to Business Act’ last year to reduce the regulatory compliance burden by waiving the requirement of certain approvals and inspections for establishment and operations for MSMEs in the state while introducing the provision of self-declaration. This is great boon to the MSMEs in the State.” To resolve the issue of delayed payments, we have notified 22 MSME Facilitation Councils, probably we are the first state in the country to have Facilitation Councils at the district level, he added.
 
Mr Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Government of India, said, “The regulatory environment has a very significant impact on the business environment. The Government of India, has taken many steps to create a conducive atmosphere for the industries to flourish, by eliminating the unnecessary requirements and procedures. Punjab too has embarked upon the agenda of improving aggregate performance on key doing business indicators, while the State has set up ‘Invest Punjab’, a unified regulator vested with the powers to grant regulatory clearances across 23 departments, however its present ranking on business ease of doing business index suggests that a lot needs to be done in improving the overall business climate in the state.” We need to create compelling reasons for investors to come to Punjab through policies and a proactive & stimulating policy framework which will help in bringing ease of doing business in the true sense, he added.
 
During the first meeting of the newly elected State Council, the new incumbents of CII Punjab were also announced. Mr Rahul Ahuja and Mr Bhavdeep Sardana have been elected as the Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of CII Punjab for the year 2020-21.
 
Mr Ahuja will head the CII Punjab State which comprises Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh and Mohali. Elaborating on the priorities for the 2020-21, Mr Ahuja said, “Our initiatives for the year would primarily focus on enhancing industry competitiveness, fostering ground for favourable industry policies, skill development and inclusivity, adoption of contemporary technology and innovations and working towards provisioning opportunities for industrial growth & development. I would also like to share with you all that the year 2020 is an immensely important one for the CII family. This year, we mark 125 years of our partnership with the nation. A wide array of new initiatives and activities are planned and some innovative ideas would be actioned over the course of this year.”
 
Rahul Ahuja is the Managing Director of Rajnish Industries Private Limited and a qualified engineer aged 48 years. His company Rajnish Industries Limited is engaged in the manufacture & exports of diesel fuel injection spares. After starting exports in the year 2000, in a span of 5 years, Mr Ahuja was able to establish his organisation’s brand in more than 50 countries around the globe. Rajnish Industries Limited has five manufacturing units in Ludhiana employing around 1000 people.
 
He has received awards from CII, EEPC & LMA for outstanding performances. He was Chairman of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Ludhiana Zone in 2013.
 
While, Bhavdeep Sardana is the Senior VP & CEO at The Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited. He is responsible for successfully implementing repeated expansions at various units. He is actively engaged with State Govts and Govt. of India on policies affecting agro-processing industry and ease of doing business reforms. He is also a member of Punjab State Planning Board.