Powerless Punjab offers major sops in industrial policy

September 17th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The director of newly opened Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Punjab's Ropar town - which is facing various problems at its new campus - Thursday sought Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's assistance, officials said. The IIT at Ropar town, some 50 km from here, is at present running from the local polytechnic college, as its main campus building is under construction.

September 16th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Punjab is fast emerging as an important investment destination in the Information Technology sector. There are many IT majors already located in the State and the Punjab government is upbeat about luring investors by promoting its existing potential.

September 9th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh has cleared 13 industrial proposals worth Rs.330 crore including those of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Johnson and Johnson, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Wednesday.

July 28th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Heavy rains lashed Chandigarh and neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana Tuesday, ending days of dry weather in the region. "There has been heavy rainfall in different parts of Punjab and Haryana.

July 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will announce more sops for the slowdown-hit exports sector in the export-import policy (Exim) for 2009-10, which will be released next month, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here Thursday. "There will be certain measures.

July 5th, 2009 PANAJI - The state tourism industry should be granted tax sops in the budget to be presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday, a leading industry chamber here has said. According to the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the state's tourism infrastructure also needed needed to be upgraded if it were to compete with other tourist destinations the world over.

July 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday lost no opportunity to needle West Bengal's ruling Left Front when she proposed a new rail line from Singur to Nandigram and sops for Lalgarh - areas in the state that have witnessed violent anti-Left agitations. Exhibiting shrewd political sense in her wide array of proposals for West Bengal in the 2009-10 rail budget, arguably the highest sops the state has got since independence, Banerjee Friday let go no opportunity to woo her votebank with an eye to the 2011 state polls.

June 4th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh will be connected to the gas pipeline by next year, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Thursday. "The industrial hub of the state, the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area, would be connected with the gas pipeline in the first phase through Nangal town of Punjab where the laying of pipeline is in progress," he told reporters after meeting Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board of India chairman Lalit Mansingh.

May 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi's new industrial policy is likely to be announced by early August, an official statement said Tuesday. The new policy was formulated taking into account the guidelines included in the Master Plan for Delhi-2021.

April 10th, 2009 SHIMLA - Food products major Nestle India wants to set up a food and beverage manufacturing unit in Himachal Pradesh, according to a senior government official. 'Nestle has shown keen interest in establishing a unit here, and plans to invest about Rs.400 crore,' Principal Secretary (Industry) S.C.

February 17th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac Wednesday hinted that his budget, to be presented Friday, would have some special offers for the large number of NRIs, who are returning home after losing their jobs due to the economic slowdown. 'The situation in the Middle East is such that by June this year more than 200,000 people will return.

February 3rd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Chief executives of Technopark companies here Wednesday asked the Kerala government to announce a stimulus package for the state's IT industry, which has been hit hard by the economic slowdown. The Group of Technopark Companies (GTECH), a body representing the CEOs of the companies in Technopark, expected hope that the government would come up with some sops for the industry in the next state budget, to be presented later this month.

January 19th, 2009 RAIPUR - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Chhattisgarh will take the help of the corporate sector in drafting a new industrial policy, it said Tuesday. 'I have started working on a draft of the new industrial policy for the next five years and I have decided to hold separate discussions with experts, industrialists and industry bodies such as CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry),' Chief Minister Raman Singh told IANS.

January 4th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Gujarat is aiming to achieve an annual industrial growth of 14.5 to 15 percent for the next five years, Minister of State for Industry and Energy Saurabh Patel said Monday. 'The Planning Commission has set a growth target of 11.2 percent for Gujarat in the next five years.

January 4th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Reliance Communications Monday announced the launch of its GSM mobile services in Punjab, becoming the first telecom operator in the circle to have both GSM and CDMA services for mobile users. 'The service will cover 460 towns, 11,741 villages and a number of national, state and other highways, tourist and religious places throughout the state,' Reliance regional hub head Arvind Kumar told reporters at the launch.