M&M plans investments in IT, auto sectors in Punjab

New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra has serious business plans for Punjab and is inclined to invest in the Information Technology and automobile sector in the region.

Talking to the media, the chairman of the group, Keshub Mahindra said the group had proposed to invest Rs 35 crore in the foundry belonging to Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL) located in village Majri near Kurali in Mohali.

This will increase the capacity to 25,000 metric tonnes per annum that would be consumed by the group companies. The company, according to him, was waiting for the government clearances and would kick-start the operation shortly.

Early this year, the company acquired a 49 per cent stake in PTL for Rs 1,500 crore.

Mahindra was talking on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying ceremony of Tech Mahindra North campus in Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park today.

The company also plans to invest Rs 200 crore to build a 5,000-seater state-of-the-art software development centre in 15 acres here. In the first phase a seating capacity for 2,500 people will be created.

Tech Mahindra currently employs over 600 IT professionals at its Chandigarh Development Centre that would be shifted to its own campus gradually.

Vineet Nayyar, vice-chairman, managing director and CEO of Tech Mahindra, said the company also planned to run an institute of excellence at the upcoming Education City in Chandigarh. An investment of about Rs 50 crore would be made to commence the project.

Keshub Mahindra said that under the corporate social responsibility (CSR), the company invests about 1 per cent of its profits and the education-related projects were financed under its CSR initiative.

He added that the trained workforce in India required further training to excel in their respective fields and the institute in Chandigarh would polish the skills of the people for specialised fields.

The governor of Punjab and administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh, Gen (retd) SF Rodrigues, said private participation in various projects envisaged by the Chandigarh administration was indispensable for creating employment opportunities for the people of the region.