Defence, Aerospace Big Opportunities For Engineering Units: Punjab Minister

(MENAFN- IANS) Chandigarh, Oct 13 (IANS) Punjab has received 1,626 proposals of Rs 32,110 crore with 91,236 jobs in the first six months of this fiscal and defence and aerospace are the next big opportunities for engineering units, said Industries and Commerce Minister Aman Arora on Tuesday while assuring“Punjab is with industry”.

Arora, along with former Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa (retd.), inaugurated the 9th CII Manufacturing Excellence Exposition in Chandigarh.

“Every proposal means a new or bigger factory, more jobs and more business for local suppliers,” Arora said, noting that manufacturing is the backbone of Punjab's economy with units making auto parts, tractors, bicycles, hand tools, sports goods, hosiery and steel products for markets across India and abroad.

After touring the exhibition, the minister said it was encouraging to see products, machines and solutions made by state's units, adding manufacturing excellence today“means better quality, less waste, timely delivery, competitive pricing and adoption of new technology on the shop floor”.

He said the government is enabling industry to meet global demands through the revamped FastTrack Punjab single-window system -- an online portal with all permissions and 45-working-day time-bound approvals, while the new Industrial and Business Development Policy of 2026 offers incentives up to 125 per cent of capital investment in priority sectors, including auto components, EVs, defence and aerospace, electronics, textiles, food processing and sports goods.

“No state or society can survive without industry. That's why we framed the policy through 24 sector committees -- the person facing the problem has the best solution. Industry itself decided what the policy should be,” Arora said, while lauding state's entrepreneurs for out-of-the-box ideas and urging them to use the expo for vendor matchmaking.

He said the FastTrack portal now ensured officer-specific, time-bound disposal, with auto-escalation and show-cause notices for delays.

Arora said defence and aerospace are the next big opportunity for Punjab's engineering units already making precision parts and vendor development talks facilitated by Invest Punjab at the expo are a key step towards making them suppliers to the sector.

He also urged large companies and PSUs to increase sourcing from the state's MSMEs.

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