SAS Nagar (Mohali): Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and Chief Guest Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday unveiled 12 new initiatives to revolutionize industrial growth in the state thereby launching a new era of growth and prosperity for Punjab’s industry under Punjab Udyog Kranti.
Divulging more details, the Chief Guest said that a set of 12 initiatives will revolutionize how industry in Punjab operates, how industry interacts with the Government and how industry can unlock value of its land and become more competitive nationally as well as globally. He said that firstly the state government will ensure deemed approval system in 45 days for all the applications thereby stipulating that all approvals and clearances for setting up a business or expanding an existing business will be issued in maximum of 45 working days, addressing one of the biggest concerns of investors - delay and uncertainty. Previously, Arvind Kejriwal said that many clearances had notified timelines of 60 to 120 working days, and actual processing often took even longer, creating unpredictability in project execution.
Now, the Chief Guest said that upon applying for a new business, within seven days the state government will review the application online and inform the applicant about deficiency, if any, the removal of which will ensure they get all approvals within the remaining 45 days. Additionally, he said that a Deemed Approval system has also been enabled and if no decision is taken by the designated authority within the notified timeline, the Fast-track Punjab portal will automatically generate an approval the next day, which holds the same legal validity as a regular clearance. Arvind Kejriwal asserted that this accountability-backed, system-driven reform makes Punjab a national model in investor facilitation surpassing even the most industrialized states such as Telangana, Karnataka (both Congress governed), Gujarat, Maharasthra (both BJP governed) and Tamil Nadu.
Secondly, the Chief Guest said that Fast-track Punjab portal has been launched as a Single-window for all approvals. He said that though previous governments in Punjab had claimed to start a single window system but all of them had proved a sham. However, Arvind Kejriwal said that for the first time in India, Punjab has established a true single window for investors where they can apply and the state government will get their approvals cleared from all departments.