People of this state will now have to pay more money, increase in the prices of petrol and diesel

Petrol-Diesel Price: The Punjab cabinet headed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday decided to impose a cess of 90 paise per liter on petrol and diesel. Cess on petrol-diesel was increased under the policy made to promote electronic vehicles in Punjab. Let us tell you that this is the first tax imposed on the public by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government after coming to power. Along with this, the much awaited industrial policy was also approved in the cabinet meeting held today. The approval of the policy assumes significance in view of the proposed Investors Summit by the state government on February 23-24. Along with this, the Electric Vehicle Policy has also been approved, which will lay the foundation for setting up charging stations for EVs. Those who buy EV will be given a discount of up to 15 percent on road tax.

Preparation to attract investment of 5 lakh crores

The state government is looking at attracting industrial investment of Rs 5 lakh crore through the roll out of the industrial policy. In order to woo investors, it is insisting on low rates of electricity to industrial consumers. Under this policy, projects with an investment of up to Rs 25 crore will be approved at the district level. With a view to promote basmati shelling in the state, mandi fee has been waived off on basmati shelling units.

Plan to increase employment opportunities in the state

The Punjab Industrial and Business Development Policy 2022 provides employment generation subsidy to the units providing employment to the people of Punjab. A subsidy of Rs 36,000 per year per employee and Rs 48,000 per year if the employee belongs to women or reserved categories will be given by the government for five years to those employing Punjabis. The primary focus of the policy is on promoting manufacturing and service sector while creating a conducive ecosystem for start-ups.

Various exemptions to industries

For MSMEs and large industries, the government will exempt service tax from state goods and services tax for seven years. Apart from this, exemption from electricity duty and stamp duty, subsidy will be given on applying for patent. The policy has identified some important sectors where they want to promote growth such as electronics, food processing, apparel, IT and ITES. Apart from this, the cabinet has also approved permission for open cast mining at 18 sites in the state. People can extract sand at the rate of Rs 5.50 per cubic feet by taking a tractor trolley. The cost of transportation is higher than this rate.