Vijay Mohan
Tribune News ServiceChandigarh, January 18
Investments in Punjab by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) hailing from the state are projected to touch Rs 5,000 crore by the end of this year, with a new theme “Think India – Think Punjab” being worked upon to attract potential investors looking towards India.
These projections come in the wake of the two-day Parvasi Punjabi Divas – 2006, organised by the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry (IPCSI) last week, and others studies, surveys and strategic reports. About 250 NRIs from 13 countries had attended the event.
“The projections have been put before senior Punjab Government officials,” Maj (Dr) Gulshan Sharma (retd), IPCSI Secretary-General, who had conceived and organised the event, said. “The targets are achievable, given the response of NRIs at the Parvasi Punjabi Divas and the roadmap laid out to tap potential investors and develop strategic partnerships,” he added.
The focus for the investments would be on the service sector and associated industry. The Vision Punjab 2006 paper prepared for the Punjab government lists out information technology, telecom, infrastructure development, real estate, financial services, insurance, aviation, tourism, hospitality, entertainment and biotechnology as areas for potential investment.
Major Sharma said that while service industry accounts for 52 per cent of the national economy, it is just 38 per cent for Punjab. Of the 28 million Indians residing abroad, over eight million are from Punjab. He said the endeavour was now to reach out to more NRIs who have established a firm base, technical skills or who can add to knowledge transfer or knowledge outsourcing.
Towards this end, four or five expos-cum-conferences are scheduled to be held in various countries later this year, which would be confluences for investors, experts, consultants and developers to work out collaboration packages. According to IPCSI estimates, about 500 potential investors are expected to visit its forthcoming three-day London expo every day.
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore and Thailand are among countries from where the greater share of investments is expected. To showcase Punjab and highlight investment possibilities to the local NRI community and to channelise collaborations, “advisors” have been nominated in various countries. These are people from the service industry who have carved out a niche for themselves in their adopted land, but still have their roots here.
