EDITORIAL
Capt Amarinder Singh has set a target of attracting an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in five years. By no means an easy target, but the people’s Chief Minister is going about it in a systematic manner. He has spelt out the seven strategic pillars of growth which include infrastructure, power, start-ups and entreneurship, skill development, ease of doing business and investment promotion with fiscal incentives.
His directive to government officials is “Stop treating business partners with suspicion. This will be the first step to enhance the ease of doing business. But to achieve this a change of mindset is required towards industrial and business houses: Treat them as partners”
Identifying the services sector as a key priority in the new industrial policy, he said it should focus on revival of industry, with preference to existing industries. All possible help should be extended to help industries and business to develop and expand, underlying his ‘business first’ philosophy.
Environment-friendly electric vehicles on Punjab roads is the next item on the CM’s agenda to propagate green energy and generate employment in the state.
The Chief Minister did not let his personal moment of grief, the loss of his mother, come in the way of a public interest initiative when he gave the go ahead to the launch of his ‘Apni Gaddi, Apna Rozgar’ programme to Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, who flagged of 100 Uber bike taxis.
Rajmata Mohinder Kaur, who was the last Maharani of the Patiala Kingdom and the mother of Capt Amarinder Singh, passed away on July 24, she would have turned 95 on September 14. A sea of humanity gave her a tearful farewell. We pay a homage to her on pages 6 and 7.