Tourism, sports industry to be new engines of growth: Sodhi

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 13

Tourism, sports manufacturing industry and film tourism would become new growth engines of the state.

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said this while stating that with Punjabi culture gaining popularity in Bollywood movies, the government proposed to set up a film city near Chandigarh. He said it would offer Bollywood producers a new location and more sites across the state to explore.

Addressing industrialists during the 14th edition of the PITEX, which is being organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the minister said the Punjabi film industry would get a new destination to shoot films in Bulgaria as per a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) with the government.

The minister said tourism was getting a boost because of the zero-tolerance policy of the state government on crimes against women and children. He said the government carried out required changes in the industrial policy and made it a suitable according to the needs of the industry.

Sodhi said the state government has entered into an agreement with the UK and Canada to open common skill development centre in the state and the project would commence next year. As a part of the agreement, international experts would train youths of the state and the infrastructural support would be provided by the state government.

The Sports Minister said the government was coming out with a policy for the sports industry of the state and the target was to catapult the industry from current Rs1,400 crore to Rs14,000 crore. Industry in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Mohali and Patiala would benefit from the initiative, he said.

He appealed the industry to open new avenues of jobs while expanding their businesses and said the government was ready to provide every possible support to them. RS Sachdeva, mentor of the Punjab Chapter of the PHD Chamber, said support from the state government and the local administration, the PITEX was getting bigger and better every year.

Dr Ranjeet Mehta, principal director of the PHD Chamber, and Karan Gilhotra, Chairman of the Punjab State Chapter of the PHD Chamber, thanked all dignitaries and industrialists present on the occasion.