Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh made a strong case for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's elevation to the post of party president saying that time is opportune. In an interview with Sanjay Jog, Singh, who addressed CII's Invest North meet here in Mumbai, also spoke about government's initiatives to boost development in the state.

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Does Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress party president remain a mere formality now?

The time is ripe for Rahul to take over as the party president. When else will you see him as the party president? He is 47 now. Alexander had conquered half the world when he was 35. Then why are you worried about it? At the end of this month after party meets we will make him the party president.

Will Congress's revival be fast under Rahul's leadership?

Look at Rahul's performance in America, and also during his visit to Gujarat and couple of other states. There is a positive charm.

It's a good sign that Congress has recently won in Gurdapur. The recent poll victories have revived the grand old party. It will grow further in the days to come.

After seven months in power, the opposition is alleging that you failed to fulfil poll promises. What do you have to say?

The opposition has no other role to play but making a noise about it. The fact is we have just announced our industrial policy. Everything takes time. We assumed office just seven months ago. Punjab had excellent crops this season, the state is also getting more investments.

There have been some law and order incidents, but it is under control. It has improved a lot from the previous government's rule.

Can you please brief the key features of your new industrial policy?

The policy makes decisive shift from department-centric approach to a business-centric approach. It is based on the eight core strategic pillars of infrastructure, power, MSME, ease of doing business, startup and entrepreneurship, skills, fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, and stakeholder engagement supported by sector specific strategies for growth. Special incentives will be offered for industries investing in areas closer to Pakistan border.

Do you justify the recent power tariff cleared by the state power regulator?

We are subsidising agriculture 100 per cent these days. The revenue has to come from somewhere. We have cut down the power tariff charged for industries and made it affordable to attract more investments. With the industry's development, revenue will grow and people will get also jobs. So somebody has to contribute and it has come back to individuals. All of us have to contribute.