Chandigarh: Investors on Sunday praised Punjab’s industrial policies and announced fresh investment commitments during the valedictory session of the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit.Several industry leaders highlighted the state’s improving business environment and pledged new investments across sectors including biofuels, textiles, manufacturing and education.Ashish Kumar, managing director of Verbio India, which operates a paddy-straw-based compressed biogas plant in Punjab, said the company planned to set up at least 10 more industrial-scale plants with an estimated investment of around Rs 3,000 crore. He added that a consortium involving Verbio, a Japanese company and an Indian gas producer was being formed to expand investments in compressed biogas in Punjab and across the country.Tynor MD P J Singh said the company had invested Rs 500 crore in Punjab over the past three years and planned to invest another Rs 1,000 crore in the next three years. Plaksha University founding vice-chancellor Prof Rudra Pratap said the university had already invested Rs 950 crore and intended to invest Rs 5,000 crore more in the coming years.Rutger Oudejans, representing De Heus Animal Nutrition India, said Punjab remained a key hub for dairy and agricultural innovation. The company operates globally with 120 feed mills in 23 countries, producing around 16 million metric tonnes of feed annually, he said, adding that Punjab’s infrastructure and progressive farming ecosystem made it attractive for investment.Nahar Group chairman Kamal Oswal announced investments of Rs 1,500 crore in modernising existing units, expanding textile operations, renewable energy projects and setting up a data centre in Mohali.Ganga Acrowools Ltd’s Amit Thapar said the company planned to invest Rs 750 crore in the state.Industry leaders also praised the state’s efforts to improve industrial facilitation. Yanmar India managing director Varun Khanna described the summit as an “outstanding event” reflecting Punjab’s renewed economic momentum.Jagminder Singh Bawa, president and head of operations at Vibracoustic, said the company had been operating in Punjab for 27 years and had grown into a major exporter of automotive components from its facility in Morinda, supplying to more than 20 countries.
