Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday visited the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and showcased the state as the most preferred investment destination across the country.
The Chief Minister, while interacting with the media after performing the bell ringing ceremony at the BSE here, showcased Punjab as a land of opportunities and invited companies to invest in the state.
He said entrepreneurs will be immensely benefited by investing in the state, which is rapidly emerging as the industrial hub of the country.
"Punjab has complete communal harmony, peace and amity, which are mainly responsible for overall development and prosperity in the state," he said.
The Chief Minister urged the industrialists to make optimum use of this congenial atmosphere backed by excellent infrastructure, power, skilled human resources and the best industrial and work culture to spread their business.
Extending a red carpet welcome to the industrialists, he said the government was always open for new ideas and innovations to boost the industrial growth in Punjab. "The day is not far away when Punjab will emerge as the industrial hub of the country," Mann said.
Inviting the captains of the industry to visit the state in the Invest Punjab Summit slated to be held next month at SAS Nagar, the Chief Minister said that the Invest Punjab Summit being organised on February 23-24 will prove to be a milestone in giving a major fillip to the industrial growth of the state.
He said the government has already finalised the arrangements for this mega event. Mann said the main motive behind giving fillip to industrialisation in the state is to reverse the trend of brain drain in the state by opening new vistas of employment for the youth.
On the occasion, Chief Executive Officer of the BSE, Sundararaman R., felicitated the Chief Minister.
Tight security arrangements are being put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on Sunday. International guests, diplomats, Union Ministers and celebrities are expected to join the Deepotsav festivities on Sunday. Key events will be organised at the Ram Katha Park.
Paying tributes to the martyrs, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the Punjab Police is an exceptional force which served the country both in times of peace and disturbance. He said 1,792 police officers had sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorism during the period from September 1981 to August 1992.
The spokesperson said the employees will be given option for adopting the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme. The old pension scheme was discontinued in 2004 and ever since then the employees are being given the new pension scheme. However, the employees have been since long demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Two petitioners, engaged in storing and selling of green crackers, approached the High Court challenging the Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) order to completely ban the manufacture, storage, sale, and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers till next year in the capital city. The plea stated that the air quality in New Delhi has been moderate or better at least since August 15 this year.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the know of things, Tharoor, who got 16 members from Kerala to put their signature in his nomination form, has managed to secure 130 votes out of the 297 votes from his home state, which is a very tall figure given the fact practically all the bigwigs from Kerala stood rock stock and barrel for Malikarjuna Kharge, who beat Tharoor by a mile.
"This is a revolutionary step aimed at supplementing the income of the farmers to bail them out from the agrarian crisis," he said after inaugurating Verka's newly-built milk processing and butter plant here. The Chief Minister said that the state government has inked an agreement with the Delhi government in this regard.
