Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the state contributed nearly 4 per cent of India’s textile and apparel exports, with shipments worth over $1.2 billion in FY 2024-25.The state’s products reached customers in the US, UAE, the UK and other global markets, reflecting buyers’ confidence in its manufacturing capabilities, he said.Addressing a session at Bharat Tex 2026 in the national capital, the Chief Minister said Mohali was emerging as India’s “second Silicon Valley” offering a complete ecosystem within a 5-km radius. He said his government had introduced a new Industrial and Business Development Policy to boost investment, employment and exports, while ensuring time-bound approvals through Single Window and Single Pen systems.Highlighting that Punjab has attracted Rs 2 lakh crore of investment and created five lakh employment opportunities in the last four years, Mann said entrepreneurs were now treated as partners in the state’s growth.“Industrialists were earlier treated as ATMs by the successive state governments, but the AAP government has made them an equal partner in the socio-economic progress of the state,” he said.Mann further said Punjab ranks number one in Ease of Doing Business, with an efficient single-window system operating transparently. Due to strenuous efforts of the state government, Punjab has become the first state to pass the Right to Business Act, he added.Welcoming delegates to the Punjab session at BharatTex 2026, Mann said a total of 97 firms from the state were participating in the event. “From cotton cultivation to spinning, yarn to fabrics, knitting and processing to garments, and from manufacturing to exports, Punjab possesses something that very few regions in the world can claim. This is a complete textile value chain. Punjab offers an integrated ecosystem where the entire textile journey can happen within one state,” he added.