Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday said that it was important to have a holistic roadmap for creating an enabling environment for youths in the country and skilling them to prevent them from moving abroad. Unveiling distinct features of his "Punjab Model", Sidhu said, "It is not a mere election model but a well-researched tailor-made solution based on geographical, social and economic factors created for the people of the state."
"Today's youth give hope to Punjab. They have immense energy and the same has been proved through their achievements in India and abroad,” said Sidhu. Hence, it's very important to have a holistic roadmap for creating an enabling environment for youth” and skilling them in various fields including entrepreneurship and sports, so that they do not have to move abroad, he added.
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“A one or two-point scheme is not required, the solution is a multi-pronged approach, which I am going to unveil today," he said here. He stressed that a cluster-based development model was a necessity.
"Therefore, the first highlight of entrepreneurship and skill development would be the setting up of 10 industrial and 13 food processing clusters in different parts of Punjab, facilitated with relevant and necessary skill training institutions. A cluster is a group of hundreds of similar business entities which exist in one area based on the specific skills in the area, crop pattern, soil, land, local knowledge and other factors," he said.
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"It will not only lead to more employment but will also make the people of Punjab independent, innovative and indefatigable," he said. Mohali will be the start-up and IT hub of Punjab, he said.
"With setting up advanced IT hubs and launching StartUp city in Mohali, it is expected to become the millennial tech-city and Mohali would become the Silicon Valley of North India.,” he said. Further, as an ancillary industry using technology, there will be hi-tech metal clusters and advanced machinery cluster setups in Mohali, he added.
Ludhiana will be the hub of electric vehicle manufacturing, he said, adding Punjab has the potential to become the hub of EV and semiconductor industries. The Punjab government will be the first customer of electric scooters and give it to the state's college-going girls at an interest-free, cheap cost, said Sidhu.
Kapurthala and Batala will be hubs of foundry and general engineering clusters, Patiala for cutting tool, food processing, phulkari and jewellery, Malerkotla for furniture and fixtures, footwear and leather and Mandi Gobindgarh will be made the hub of automotive-related clusters along with steel re-rolling, he said. Amritsar will be made a medical and tourism hub and Jalandhar a surgical and medical equipment and sports goods cluster, he said. Thirteen agro-processing clusters will come up for empowering farmers to become processors and traders, he said.
With PTI Inputs
