Mohali to Get R&D Centre, Innovation Hub

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said on April 28 that his Europe trip produced a proposal for an R&D Centre and Innovation Hub in Mohali. (oneindia.com) Mann presented the update in Chandigarh after a Netherlands-Finland visit, saying the state had secured partnerships in agriculture, industry and innovation. He said the Mohali proposal was part of those talks. (oneindia.com) (zeenews.india.com) He said Punjab also got clearance for a Horticulture Experience and Learning Centre modeled on the Netherlands' World Horti Center. Hindustan Times reported that Mann visited the Amsterdam facility on April 20. (hindustantimes.com) (oneindia.com) Mohali is already one of Punjab's main technology clusters, and Mann has separately pitched the city to NXP Semiconductors as a base for semiconductor research and development. That makes the new hub proposal part of a broader push to anchor higher-value industry there. (devdiscourse.com) (msn.com) Punjab already has state-backed incubation infrastructure in Mohali through the Punjab Biotechnology Incubator, which says it is the nodal agency for incubation services under the Punjab Industrial and Business Development Policy 2022. The incubator offers startup support, lab services and physical incubation. (pbtilabs.punjab.gov.in 1) (pbtilabs.punjab.gov.in 2) Mann tied the Europe trip to a separate ₹1,300 crore Japan International Cooperation Agency-backed investment push that he said would support crop diversification in Punjab. He also said global companies showed interest in technology exchange, skill development and industrial partnerships. (oneindia.com) (zeenews.india.com) The government has not yet published a project cost, timeline or operating model for the Mohali R&D centre and Innovation Hub. For now, the announcement is a proposal tied to the foreign visit, not a completed investment agreement. (oneindia.com) (brightpunjabexpress.com) That leaves the next test in Mohali: whether Punjab converts a travel announcement into a funded centre, named partners and jobs on the ground. (oneindia.com)