50 years of Industrial Development: 1947-1997:
Punjab’s industrial development can be broken up into five periods:

Post-Partition:
Pre-partition Punjab had very little industry and the industries that existed were a few woolen mills in Amritsar and Dhariwal, some old iron foundries in Batala and Mandi Gobindgarh and a couple of sugar mills. The economy of the state was totally dominated by agriculture and but processing of agricultural products was virtually unknown.

The Development of Small Scale Units:
During the ‘50s and ‘60s, there was an explosion in the number of small scale units. Growth centered around Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Goraya. Most of these units produced bicycles, sewing machines, agricultural implements, medical instruments, hosiery, machine tools and sports goods or parts for these goods. This phase saw the emergence of a few units to process agricultural produce such as sugar mills at Batala and Bhogpur. Small scale industrial units number more than 0.2 million in Punjab today; they employ more than 0.9 million workers and constitute a vital and dynamic segment of industry. The growth of the small scale sector was encouraged by government policies in the Five-Year Plans and the establishment of the Punjab Financial Corporation in 1953.

Large & Medium Scale Industry:
Unavailability of major raw material such as Iron or Coal, was a definite hindrance for the establishment of large and medium scale units in Punjab. Punjab Government stepped in to help make large & medium scale production profitable in Punjab. The establishment of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation in the ‘60s was intended to fill the gap in the development of the state. Acting as an entrepreneur, the PSIDC, on its own promoted projects and also set up larger units in the joint sector. These objects reached their fruition in the ‘70s and ‘80s and included Punjab Tractors Ltd(PTL), Punjab Alkalies ltd, Punjab Communication ltd. (PCL) are some of them.

The High-Tech Phase:
The ‘70s witnessed the foundation of electronics production. The Punjab government set up an Electronics Township called ELTOP on a 290-acre site in Mohali, near Chandigarh. This township has emerged as one of the fastest growing centres for electronics production in the country. Projects set up in the township cover micro-electronic devices, computers, computer peripherals, communications, electronic typewriters, nickel cadmium batteries, uninterrupted power supply systems, colour picture TV tubes, medical electronics, X-ray equipment, EPABX systems, many with technical collaboration with companies like Granger of USA, OKI and NEC of Japan, and ARE of Italy. The only facility in the country for the design and fabrication of very large scale integrated circuits, the Semiconductor Complex (SCL) is also located in this township.

Punjab Leads in manufacture of machines and hand tools, printing and paper machinery , auto parts and electrical switchgears. Punjab produces around 75% of bicycle and bicycle parts, sewing machines, Woolen and other Hosiery items, Shoddy blanket and jacket clothes and sports goods.