The Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said Punjab has the most conducive environment for industrial growth.

Addressing a gathering during the valedictory function on the second day of the Progressive Punjab Summit, Bhagwant Mann said Punjab is the hub of the manufacturing sector and leads the country in sectors like pharma, IT and others.

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He said along with ensuring ease of doing the focus of the state government is also on giving speed to doing business for which adequate steps are being taken.

The chief minister said his government aims to make Punjab a hub of ‘healthcare’ across the globe. He said in a major push to medical education in Punjab, the state government has decided to construct 16 new medical colleges in the coming five years that will enhance the total tally of medical colleges in the state to 25 thereby ensuring that every district of the state touches a medical college.

He said on the one hand it will provide quality medical education to the students and on other hand it will help in imparting world class healthcare facilities to people. The 117 schools of eminence being set by the state government will enable the students of Punjab to excel in the field of academics. These schools will act catalysts for the transformation of the lives of students by giving a new direction to their lives.

The schools of eminence are equipped with the best class facilities and state of the art infrastructure to enable the students to compete across the globe, he claimed.

Terming the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) obsolete in the state now, Mann said  the state government is currently signing MoDS (memorandum of dil de) with the industrialists to give fillip to industrial development in the state.

The CM said MoDS (memorandum from the heart) is a sacred agreement directly from heart and is totally based on mutual trust and zeal to make Punjab a front runner state in the industrial sector.

He said the earlier practice of forceful MoUs by arm twisting of industrialists has now withered away and today the focus is to ensure massive industrialisation in the state.

The CM said those who have participated in this summit have come on their own just to be partners in socio-economic growth of the state. As per their target audience the companies are exploring the possibilities of their expansion in the state.

Mann said this will propel progress and prosperity in the state thereby creating new job opportunities for the youth.  He announced that every year the state government will organise sectoral summits in every quarter of the fiscal year for giving further boost to the industry.

The CM said his government is committed to make Punjab a vibrant, progressive and prosperous state. He said with the active support and cooperation of the industry this task will be accomplished soon. Mann said from day one, his motive is to create more and more jobs for the youth to wean them away from drug menace by channelising their energy in a positive direction.