Punjab Announces 100% SGST Exemption For Thrust Sectors
Capt. Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab said the state offers the right atmosphere and a level-playing field to invest in the state. "Government of Punjab is doing everything to make it easy for industry and investments to come to Punjab," he added. He was speaking at the 2 day investment conclave - CII 6th Invest North 2017 at Mumbai on 1-2 November 2017.
Capt. Amarinder Singh also unveiled 'Punjab Industrial and Business Development Policy 2017' at the conclave and assured that the state government's thrust sectors would get 100 per cent exemption from SGST. The thrust sectors for Punjab government include high-tech manufacturing, apparel and made-ups, technical textiles, footwear and accessories, food processing, electronics, electronic service industry.
Speaking at the Punjab session, Manpreet Singh Badal, Finance Minister, Punjab, also invited investors to come to Punjab and enjoy the benefits through its industry friendly and trained labour force in the state. Krish Iyer, CEO, Walmart India President, recounted the global retail giant's beginning in India from Amritsar in Punjab. He complemented the state government for its e-governance system and said the single-window system was very effective. "Retail drives consumption… and consumption drives manufacturing. Hence retail sector is the biggest job creator and can help in realizing the 'Make in Punjab' dream of the state government," Iyer observed. Walmart has opened its 2nd store in Amritsar in its 8th year in the state, while exploring opportunities to open a third one. It has also signed MoU to start 15 stores in Punjab.
Rakesh Kumar Verma, CEO, Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion, and Secretary Industries, Commerce and IT, Government of Punjab made a presentation on Investment Climate Policies & Investment Opportunities in Punjab. Outlining the industrial development plan for the state, he said, "The six pillars of Punjab's industrial policy are Infrastructure, Power, Development of MSMEs through single-window clearances, a boost to start-ups and budding entrepreneurship, skill development and Ease of Doing Business. These pillars will help accelerate growth and pave way for a strong state, possible investment opportunities and overall development of the state."
Earlier, in its special plenary, Prakash Pant, Minister of Finance, Government of Uttarakhand explained about the safety atmosphere prevailing in the state for the free movement of tourists, especially women. He also explained about tax benefits given to the enterprises for employing women in their establishments.
R. Rajesh Kumar, Managing Director, SIIDCUL & Director - Industries of Government of Uttarakhand, Manisha Panwar, Principal Secretary- Industries, among others explained the investment climate, policies and opportunities in the state.
In its session, the state of Uttar Pradesh focussed on the improving investment climate in the state and framing to boost ease of doing business with the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Satish Mahana, Industry Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, termed UP as 'the prime resort for businesses'. He said the state government was proactive in improving the law and order in the state to enable businesses to run smoothly in the state. He also said the state government had been able to change the mindset of industrialists about the state during its tenure. He listed biggest consumer market, huge fertile land, abundant water resources and improved industry policies as advantages of the state.
Commissioner, Infrastructure and Industries Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Anup Chandra Pandey said in the keynote address, "UP will come out with best business policies in multiple sectors." He added that the state had already established an online single-window clearance system for new businesses. In order to improve the overall business environment, the state plans to bring in revolutionary labour reforms. Talking about the new big-ticket projects being undertaken by the state government, Pandey said the state government is working on many big-ticket projects to spur growth, including a green-field airport at Jewar (near Noida) and the 13 Smart Cities projects, while scouting investments for 26 tourists circuits that they are building. He also spoke about developing leather parks and food parks in the state for boosting economic growth.
Alok Sinha, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure and Industrial Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, made a presentation on the investment climate, policies and investment opportunities in UP.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural session packed with industry captains from all over the country, Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, advised state governments to work with the industry as partners and understand their pain points to resolve them. This will help promote the overall economic climate by boosting Ease of Doing Business. Complimenting the state governments for doing impressive work on ease of doing business front, he stated that states and the Centre are working as Team India and states have been learning from each other's best practices. WB rankings are based on the feedback from two cities but I wish the WB team evaluated 15 other cities doing phenomenal work in ushering in new reforms. Participation of six states here in Invest North 2017 is an indicator of how keen today the state governments are to enter into a dialogue with the investors to create a business-friendly environment based on the principle of competitive federalism.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said that jumping 30 places in Ease of Doing Business rankings is an unbelievable achievement and congratulated the DIPP Secretary for leading the mission from the front.
Shobhana Kamineni, CII President, said the industry can also pat itself on the back for becoming a part of the reform process resulting in the landmark achievement for the nation. "The Centre government has proactively addressed and implemented structural reforms; GST, insolvency and the Bankruptcy code are certainly game changers, open up many sectors for investments. This has encouraged overseas funds to peak levels for overseas funds, in the past three years, she said."
The 2 day conclave facilitates interactive State Plenary Sessions with ministers, top government officials and industry captains of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. An exhibition was also organized as part of the Summit besides B2G meetings.
