Chandigarh, March 16 -- Hailing the industry-friendly initiatives of the Punjab government, investors pledged investments worth Rs.12,000 crore on the concluding day of the Progressive Punjab Investors' Summit in Mohali on Sunday. Addressing the valedictory session, Nahar Group of Companies chairman Kamal Oswal announced Rs.1,500 crore investments in modernisation of existing units, textiles, renewable energy besides setting up a data centre in Mohali. He said investment proposals announced during the three-day summit would create tremendous job avenues and industrial growth in the state, according to an official release. With an investment of Rs.950 crore already committed to building a world-class university focused on reimagining education, Plaksha University vice chancellor Dr Rudra Pratap announced plans for an additional Rs.5,000 crore in the university to nurture human productivity and intellectual capital, transforming Punjab into a hub for cutting-edge technology and entrepreneurship. While Arisudana Industries managing director (MD) Gagan Khanna expressed gratitude towards the state government for its constant and encouraging cooperation for industry, Tynor MD PJ Singh said the company will invest Rs.1,000 crore in next three years. He said this was one of the best and satisfying summits in the recent past. Vervio India MD Ashish Kumar emphasised that the company laid the foundation for a purely paddy straw-based unit in Punjab with a capacity of 33 tonnes production of compressed biogas. He said the company is committed to setting up a minimum of ten more industrial scale plants in the Punjab with an estimated outlay of Rs.3,000 crore. "The company will establish a consortium of three large stakeholders. It will be announced next month in association with Japanese and Indian stakeholders," he added. Amit Thapar from Ganga Acrowools Limited said that four years ago, the industry was facing challenges like delayed CLUs and approvals. He also reiterated the company's plans to invest Rs.750 crore. Ajay Datani, joint managing director of Sanatan Polycot, said the event demonstrated the meticulous planning and commitment of the state government. Yanmar India MD Varun Khanna hailed the Punjab government for organising the event that exhibited the state's renewed momentum, while Vibra Coustic's president and head of operations Jagminder Singh Bawa said they are trying to make Mohali a hub of automotive industry. Punjab Development Commission (PDC) vice chairperson Seema Bansal said the Punjab government is aiming to develop SAS Nagar (Mohali) as a Tier-1 town in the IT sector, focusing on the foundational pillars of governance, academia and infrastructure to achieve this vision. Addressing the IT and ITeS session on the theme 'Punjab Offer: Promoting GCCs with speed, clarity, and after care', she said that a number of manufacturing industries in the state have already successfully started integrating AI technologies into their production processes. Dhirendra Kumar Tiwari, additional chief secretary, information technology, outlined key fiscal benefits for IT and ITeS units, including a 75% net SGST reimbursement for 10 to 15 years and an employment generation subsidy of Rs.5,000 per employee per month for five years. "Investors can also avail themselves of a capital subsidy of up to 20% of fixed capital investment, capped at Rs.10 crore, alongside a 100% exemption on electricity duty for 10 to 15 years", he added....