Event Round-Up

Parvasi Punjabi Divas showcases avenues for NRI investment

EH STAFF - Chandigarh

In order to develop the service infrastructure in north India, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh, the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry (IPCSI) brought NRIs on a single platform to introduce them to investment opportunities.

The conference identified the areas of development in the area of infrastructure including roads, highways, rail, airports, power generation, SEZs, retail, real estate, housing, aviation, hospitality, travel and tourism, healthcare, schools, colleges, media-entertainment and other sectors of the service industry.

The event took place under the banner Parvasi Punjabi Divas, which is in its fourth edition. It addressed the cause titled 'Global Investors Conference for Infrastructure Development'. The event took place in the city on January 11, 2007 registering fair governmental participation from the northern states, real estate companies and NRI investors.

The primary motive was to identify and showcase the areas where NRIs could invest and how the public-private partnership (PPP) platform had made inbound investments easier with less paperwork and reduced time for sanctions. The private sector, with its professional maturity and resources, was urged to play a more active role in developing public infrastructure and other facilities and to make the service industry a vital segment of the region's economy. With the theme 'Think India - Think North', the event focused on greater NRI investments flowing into the northern region.

Inaugural session

In its inaugural address, Governor of Haryana, Dr AR Kidwai pointed out the essence of thinking together and being cohesive beyond the limits of political boundaries. Host for the day, Dr Gulshan Sharma, secretary general of IPCSI, welcomed the delegates and dignitaries and elaborated that the focus of the event is to channelise NRI investments towards infrastructure development, service industry and employment generation as part of the programme of strategic investment in northern India.

Dr AS Marwah, outgoing president of IPCSI, said, "The objective of Parvasi Punjabi Divas is to expand the scope of the forum by including the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh in order to strategise policies jointly. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, commissioner (NRI Affairs) gave a presentation on the Indian economy highlighting that 57 per cent of GDP contribution comes from the service sector. He also elaborated on the friendly governmental institutional mechanism for fast track clearance of various projects.

Technical session - focus on states

During the business session, Himachal Pradesh Governor, VS Kokje highlighted the potential of the state with a presentation. He said, "There is a vast opportunity for tourism in the state and we are contemplating a new tourism strategy by investing in tourism-related projects such as golf courses, convention centers, pilgrimage and heritage centers, rural tourism, health and medical tourism, and adventure sports where NRIs are welcome to invest. Such plans will also create a large number of employment opportunities for the youth in the state. He emphasised, "The northern region with its common boundaries could jointly development infrastructure in the entire region." Representatives of the states of Haryana and Punjab also spoke about the financial benefits NRIs can earn through investments.

The conference registered participation of 309 delegates with 137 NRIs from USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and other countries with more than 150 corporates associated with infrastructure development.