CICU Welcomes Launch of BHAVYA Portal; Upkar Singh Ahuja Raises Key MSME Concerns before Union Minister Piyush Goyal

Ludhiana, June 9, 2026: The Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU) has welcomed the launch of the BHAVYA (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana) Portal, unveiled by the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal. This ambitious initiative, backed by an outlay of ₹33,660 crore, aims to establish 100 investment-ready industrial parks across India over the next six years, featuring world-class plug-and-play infrastructure along with integrated worker housing facilities.
Representing CICU at the launch event, Upkar Singh Ahuja, President of CICU, actively participated in the interactive session and highlighted several important concerns and suggestions on behalf of the MSME sector.
During the question-and-answer session, Ahuja emphasized that land pricing for MSMEs should receive special consideration. He pointed out that industrial land prices in Punjab, particularly in Ludhiana, have become significantly expensive, making expansion difficult for small and medium enterprises. He urged the Central Government to ensure that MSMEs are allotted land at concessional rates compared to large-scale industries to promote inclusive industrial growth. This scheme will be highly beneficial for MSMEs, especially those requiring smaller pockets of land.
He further suggested that the Government’s “One District, One Product (ODOP)” initiative should be closely integrated with the proposed plug-and-play industrial parks. Such a linkage would enable industries to leverage regional manufacturing strengths, as specific cities are highly prominent in certain products, thereby improving competitiveness and generating greater economic benefits for local clusters.
Additionally, Ahuja pointed out that technology within the MSME sector and general industry is currently not up to mark. To address this, he proposed that dedicated space or special incentives should be earmarked within these industrial parks for technology companies, Research & Development (R&D) Centers, technology upgradation facilities, and innovation-driven projects. This would allow technology firms to establish a presence and directly support MSMEs. He stressed that high-technology and future-ready industries should be given priority in land allotment and offered competitive rates to encourage advanced manufacturing and technological development in the country.
Welcoming the BHAVYA initiative, CICU expressed confidence that the scheme will significantly strengthen India’s industrial ecosystem, attract investments, create employment opportunities, and accelerate the nation’s journey towards becoming a global manufacturing hub.
CICU looks forward to working closely with the Government to ensure that the interests of MSMEs remain at the forefront of India’s industrial development agenda.