Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab

Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab was established under the initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Initiative of Rural Business Hub in Punjab had its first meeting in May 2006.

The aim of Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab is to bring about the development of the rural areas of the state. It is based on the Thai model One- Tambon- One Product (OTOP). RBH in Punjab also follows the unique concept of Public Private Panchayat Partnership (PPPP). The various members of Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab are:

• Mr Lal Singh, Honorable Minister, Rural Development & Panchayats - Chairman
• Mr Harpal Singh, Chairman, Fortis Health care Ltd – Co-Chairman
• Mr Akshay Bector, Managing Director, Cremica Agro Foods Ltd
• Mr B R Bajaj, Principal Secretary, Local Government & IT
• Mr Rajinder Gupta, Managing Director, Abhishek Industries Ltd
• Mr G S Dhiman, General Manager, Nahar Exports
• Mr M C Munjal, Managing Director, Majestic Auto Ltd
• Mr S K Rai, Managing Director (Works), Hero Cycles Limited

Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab looks after the welfare of various sectors that operate in the rural areas of the state. The various sectors looked after by Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab are:

• Fishery
• Poultry
• Handicraft and Hand loom products
• Medicinal plants
• Bio- fuels
• Food processing

The various objectives of Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab are to work along with the state government in order to bring about an all round development of the rural areas of the state. Further its various objectives include the incorporation of the industry to refine the locally available resources and to produce goods that are of such standard and quality that they are acceptable in the national and international markets. Also the various objectives of the Rural Business Hub in Punjab are to provide the industry with a mechanism through which it can directly procure agricultural products from the rural people. This will prove to be beneficial for both the industry and the rural people for the industry would get high quality and standard products at less procurement costs and the rural people will get the correct amount for their products due to the absence of the middlemen.

The various advantages of Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab are that it has developed the infrastructure of the rural areas of the state by setting up cold storage facilities, R&D centers, tissue testing laboratories, soil testing units, bio control laboratories, and model farms. Further its various advantages are that it has helped in bring many industries into the rural areas of the state and this has generated a lot of jobs for the rural people. This has given a major boost to the economic condition of the rural people of Punjab. The industries that have come into the rural areas of Punjab have brought with them the latest technology, marketing and branding, agricultural inputs, practices for farming that are good, skill and training development, and value addition. All this has proved to be advantageous for the rural people of Punjab for they are now earning higher pay packages due to increased yields, entrepreneurship development, low transaction costs, and better quality.

Rural Business Hub Initiative in Punjab thus has done much in order to bring about the development of the rural areas of the state. The Rural Business Hub in Punjab must continue with its efforts for this will improve the condition of the rural people even more.

To get more information on the operations of Rural Business Hub in Punjab, the contact details are as follows:

Ms Bhavleen Kaur
Confederation of Indian Industry
Block No. 3, Dakshin Marg
Sector 31-A
Chandigarh-160 030

Tel: 0172-2602365 / 2605868 / 2607228
Fax: 0172-2606259
Email: bhavleen.kaur@ciionline.org

last Updated 25/05/2011