Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal Friday guaranteed every support to the industry in Punjab for competing with China in manufacturing, saying his blood boils when he sees items like plastic buckets and deities’ idols being imported from that country.
“When God created the earth, the most prosperous and beautiful land he created was ‘Bharatvarsh’. We have mountains, rivers, medicinal herbs, minerals, iron, coal and countless other resources…But my blood boils when I see that even after 75 years of Independence, we import plastic buckets and phone chargers from China. We import toys, stationery, even the plastic containers in which we keep spices in our kitchens…We even import idols of Lakshmi and Ganesh…,” Kejriwal said.
“You tell me what you want here in Punjab. Tell us what you need to defeat China and we will provide it to you in Punjab. I will ensure that you get all help from the government. We have already introduced a 45-day single window clearance system for the industry to make the approvals easier,” he added.
The former Delhi Chief Minister was addressing the gathering on the opening day of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit 2026 in Mohali.
“Give Punjabis the opportunity, and they will manufacture products cheaper than China and even export to them,” Kejriwal said, adding that a business-friendly environment had already helped attract Rs 1.50 lakh crore in investments in four years.
Kejriwal said that he recalled a time in the 1980s when Punjab was ranked number one in the country in terms of per capita income, a status it lost over the past 40 years, slipping to 18th position. He said when the AAP took charge of the government in 2022, there was a very gloomy atmosphere and Industries were leaving Punjab for other states. He said the party turned the gloomy atmosphere into a positive one.
“Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and I went to every district holding meetings. We have prepared a policy after consultations. There was only one demand that the government should stop interfering and allow them to do their work and run their businesses. Businesspeople were constantly entangled with government departments, approvals, penalties, threats, and inspections. We took the path of reforms. Now, we give approvals with 45 days. If approval is not granted within 45 days, then on the 46th day the software automatically grants all approvals,” he said, adding in the coming years, “we will bring this timeline down to even 10 or 15 days”.
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Punjab, he said, is different. “CM Mann and Industries minister Sanjeev Arora personally monitor every proposal,” he said. Calling Mann a “famously popular” leader and Arora as a minister who is working day and night, he said, “I do not think you will find such a CM again, who you can meet at even 2 am. Yesterday, an industrialist came to me and said that no one knows when Minister Arora even sleeps”.
Kejriwal said he does not consider AAP to be a political party but a startup, a Unicorn, and it will become a national party in 10-12 years. “It has been barely 10 to 12 years, and within this short span AAP has become a national party. In our party you will find IITians, IIM graduates, chartered accountants, people educated at Oxford, lawyers, journalists”.
Earlier, Mann said the summit marked the beginning of a new phase of economic growth, employment and industrial expansion, as the state positions itself as a major investment destination with faster approvals, pro-industry policies and a focus on education, healthcare and skilled manpower.
Mann also said the state secured investments worth over Rs 10,000 crore on the first day of the summit.
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Major companies, such as HMEL, Tata Steel, JSW, Trident Group, Hero Industries and several others, have announced plans to expand and set up their ventures in the state, he added.
“It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that on the very first day of the summit, the state has secured investments worth more than Rs 10,000 crore.,” he added.
Citing examples of local success stories, Mann said, “Punjab-based enterprises, such as Sonalika, Preet Tractors, Duke, Monte Carlo and many others, are shining examples of local entrepreneurship”.
“The doors of Punjab are open to all investors, and we welcome them with a red carpet. Our policies are flexible and designed to meet the needs of the industry. I urge all of you to invest here, create jobs for Punjabis and help Punjab write a new success story. The state government is aligning skill education and training with the needs of industry so that a strong pool of skilled manpower is created in Punjab,” he said.
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Welcoming business leaders, Mann further said, “Our vision is to build a strong partnership between the government and industry. This summit is not merely about signing MoUs but about sharing knowledge, brainstorming and learning from each other”.
Mann shared that the state government has chosen a path that will make the future of Punjab bright by accelerating economic growth. “I have seen that the young generation of Punjab wants to achieve something big in life. They are natural leaders who cannot live in isolation. I firmly believe that God has given me this opportunity to lead Punjab so that we can bring meaningful change in the lives of our people.”
Punjab is now at the threshold of transitioning toward a new culture of innovation and technology-driven enterprise. The youth of the state are coming up with new ideas and innovations, and it is our responsibility to support them, he said. He also said that his government is committed to transforming Punjab into a major industrial and export hub in the world.
Punjab is among the top-performing states in the ease of doing business ranking conducted by the central government, he said. “Our government seeks holistic economic and financial success for Punjab. I firmly believe that the pillars of our growth are good governance, digitisation, decisiveness, transparency and sensitivity,” he added.
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The industry leaders, who participated in the opening ceremony included Sunil Kant Munjal (Hero Enterprise), TV Narendran (Tata Steel), Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (ArcelorMittal), Sajjan Jindal (JSW Group), Rajinder Gupta (Trident Ltd), Nivruti Rai (Invest India), Madhav Singhania (JK Cements), Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar (Infosys), Ravinder Balain (Cargill India), Neeraj Aggarwal (Boston Consulting Group), Amrit Sagar Mittal (Sonalika International), Hiroshi Isshiki (Yanmar Pvt. Ltd.), Gi No Park (Sunjin), Fumio Yamazaki (Embassy of Japan), Harjinder Kang (UK Government), Eui-jin Chon (Embassy of Republic of Korea), Kamal Oswal (Nahar Group), and Sachit Jain (Vardhman Special Steels).
