Renowned bicycle manufacturer BSA and healthcare chain Apollo Hospitals will set up their facilities in Punjab.
The announcement was made by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who is on a two-day visit to Chennai and Hyderabad to meet leading industrialists with an intention to attract investments in the State.Sukhbir, after meeting the industrialists and top management of the companies in Chennai on Thursday, said that Punjab has achieved two major breakthroughs during the visit with the country's second biggest bicycle manufacturer, BSA, and Apollo Hospitals announcing their decision to expand their operations in Punjab.
While the Muruguppa Group, which owns the BSA brand, has committed to establish a bicycle manufacturing plant in Rajpura, Apollo Hospitals will establish a state of the art hospital at Amritsar.Muruguppa Group chairman l Ramkumar told Sukhbir that the Group, which has a tube manufacturing facility in Mohali near Chandigarh, wanted to put up a world class bicycle and tube manufacturing plant at Rajpura. The project would come up with an investment of Rs200 crore.
He stated that the Group was now looking for a land parcel of 60 to 70 acres for the project.Assuring the Muruguppa Group of all facilitation to establish its forthcoming bicycle unit in Rajpura, Sukhbir disclosed that the new industrial policy, which allowed investors to retain 80 per cent VAT (value added tax) due from them, would ensure the competitiveness of BSA bicycles both in the region, and internationally also.
Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy said that the hospital chain would establish a state of the art hospital in Amritsar which would not only cater to Punjab but also to the NRIs and international patients.Reddy announced that a team from Apollo hospitals would visit Punjab in the forthcoming fortnight and that he would also visit Punjab to ensure speedy establishment of the project.
He disclosed that the hospital chain was keen to develop skill sets of medical fraternity following which the Deputy Chief Minister announced that Punjab was ready to give clearance to the hospital group to establish its own University for this purpose.
Sukhbir also visited Sankar Nethralaya and held discussions with its vice chairman Dr TS Surendran. He invited Sankar Nethralaya to help in establishment of a similar charitable hospital in Punjab.
In another meeting, TAFE group chairman and CEO Mallika Srinivasan also met the Deputy Chief Minister during the course of which Sukhbir briefed her about single window clearance system initiated by Punjab and the various incentives being given by the State.Rane group chairman Harish laxman also held a meeting with Sukhbir and discussed ways and means to increase the presence of the group, which manufactures auto components.