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Punjab appoints 13 business facilitators for faster clearances

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has appointed 13 business facilitators at the district level for faster regulatory clearance of private investments worth Rs 60,000 crore that will also help the state improve its ranking in the ease of doing business.

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Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 9

The Punjab government has appointed 13 business facilitators at the district level for faster regulatory clearance of private investments worth Rs 60,000 crore that will also help the state improve its ranking in the ease of doing business.

These facilitators will hand hold investors and help them in documentation. They will guide them through the 'Business First Portal' that will give regulatory clearances from multiple departments, secure fiscal incentives for the investors and issue them completion certificates.

"To facilitate investments, we have also empowered Deputy Commissioner in districts to approve project up to Rs 10 crore. The investor would not be required to travel all the way to Chandigarh," said DPS Kharbanada, Director, Industries & Commerce, Punjab. He said while the 11 business facilitators would serve investors in districts, two will be stationed in Chandigarh.

This is one of the initiatives of the state to change its poor image in business ranking, officials said. In the index 2017, released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and World Bank, Punjab slipped to the 20th position from the 12th position it had secured in the previous year.

A team from the DIPP is expected to visit the state in mid-November to assess the ground situation that would be factored in the ensuing report of the 'Ease of Doing Business'.

The incumbent Congress government has signed 301 MoUs worth Rs 60,000 crore since 2017. "We plan to convert these MoUs into projects on the ground," Kharbanda said. These proposed investment projects are related to manufacturing, agri and food processing, tourism, infrastructure, education, IT/ITeS, health and bio-tech sectors.

He also mentioned that the department is training nodal officers of various departments such as housing and urban development, power, pollution control, labour to make them investor-friendly. An investor needs approval from these departments to set up a project.

The state has already hired the services of National Informatics Centre to improve its 'Ease of doing business' ranking and a consultancy to implement best practices to woo investors.

NIC has already created "Business First" portal for the investors. The state expects that the portal will strengthen delivery of services to investors.

While the businessmen can submit their proposals and queries and can see status of their proposal through the portal, the department can monitor the project so that it can get timely clearance and approval. 

Red carpet welcome for investors

  • 11 facilitators to be based at district level
  • Two enablers will facilitate investors in Chandigarh
  • Global adviser to facilitate regulatory bottlenecks
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