Tata Steel unit in Punjab

Coming as the oxygen much needed to resuscitate the economy of Punjab is the land allotment for Tata Steel’s secondary plant at Kariana Khurd in Ludhiana. High hopes of helping lift Punjab out of the doldrums ride on the Rs 2,600-crore project, touted to be the Tata conglomerate’s biggest such unit. That the company chose to celebrate the 163rd birth anniversary of Sir Dorabji Tata, the titan who put India on a global business pedestal, with this investment bodes well as it underscores its commitment to this deal. The business venture should serve as an impetus for other investors waiting in the wings.

The Punjab Government’s efforts in the past few years to rope in companies through programmes like ‘Progressive Punjab’ have not yielded much to tom-tom about. More recently, the state’s plan of a textile park near Ludhiana came a cropper – at least for the time being – as it clashed with the bigger need of protecting the Mattewara forest reserve. Undoubtedly, the government must press all buttons to improve ease of doing business. Facilitating established industries and startups should be a priority as it is the path to a rosy future through the creation of more employment opportunities.

Given the all-round despondency in Punjab – be it the agriculture crisis, lack of jobs, prevalence of drugs, gang culture – it is not surprising that hordes of people are in the race to migrate, looking for greener pastures abroad. Youngsters prefer the education route, many a time by putting at stake every family asset. The elders, including well-off ones, too, are not far behind. This sadly bursts the bubble of contentment and pride coming from being in one’s native land. It has come to the fore that many government employees, in violation of service rules, have slyly obtained permanent residencies of foreign countries. The corrupt among them use this status to escape the Vigilance Bureau net or other inquiries against them. It is imperative to arrest the depletion of precious human resources and restore the lost glory of Punjab by creating aspirational conditions in the state.