LUDHIANA – If you have business on mind, there’s no place better in India than Ludhiana to do it. This is part of the findings of a study -Punjab State Profile – 2011 – conducted by the PHD Research Bureau.
The study states that Ludhiana has made rich contribution in the economic growth of the state. With the apparel park also situated in the city, there are greater business opportunities to be explored here. The president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Salil Bhandari, released this study in Amritsar on Monday during Punjab International Trade Expo 2011 (PITEX 2011).
Though happy with these findings, Ludhiana’s business honchos say it’s time authorities paid more attention to the city’s development. Commenting on the study, president of Knitwear Club Vinod Thapar, who also attended PITEX, said, ”The findings are correct in the sense that city has so much potential and we are utilizing it to the optimum level.” However, he called for better results for the efforts put in.
Exhorting the state and central governments to bring in more investment, general secretary of Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) Avtar Singh said, ”It’s only logical to do so since the city is so important from the business point of view.” He added that rail, air and dry port facilities were already available in the city and there was only a need to give them a thrust. This is not the first time that city has been declared the best place for business opportunities.
In July 2009, International Finance Corporation ( IFC) had ranked Ludhiana as the easiest location to do business in India. The report was based on various parameters on setting up industrial and commercial activity such as permits, notifications and inspections. These included dealing with construction permits, registering property and the contentious issue of taxing. Similarly, on October 20, 2011, the World Bank had released its annual ‘Doing Business’ report, ranking Ludhiana as India’s easiest place to do business, followed by Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad and New Delhi. Ludhiana was ranked on top for paying taxes and second for resolving insolvencies.
