Chandigarh/Ludhiana, April 8

Punjab Soil & Water Conservation, Mines & Geology, and Water Resources Minister, Barinder Kumar Goyal, on Wednesday inaugurated the state’s first Central Pivot Irrigation System at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. This marks North India’s first installation of this modern, automated irrigation technology.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Satbir Singh Gosal, DGM NABARD Amit Garg and others were present. Progressive farmers, scientists, faculty members, and senior officers from the Departments of Soil & Water Conservation, Agriculture, Horticulture, an other allied departments also attended the inauguration.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal urged scientists, officers, and students to focus on innovation and adopt cutting-edge farming technologies, especially in the emerging era of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He highlighted the critical groundwater situation in Punjab and emphasized the urgent need to promote modern irrigation methods for water conservation.

Goyal reiterated the Punjab Government’s strong commitment to groundwater preservation and applauded the significant strides made in increasing the use of surface water in agriculture. He commended the Soil & Water Conservation Department for introducing the advanced Central Pivot Irrigation System in Punjab and expressed gratitude to NABARD for funding this pioneering demonstration project at PAU.

Describing the technology, the Minister said the Central Pivot Irrigation System offers a one-time, fully automated irrigation solution, particularly beneficial for Punjab’s farms facing acute labour shortages. The system requires no manual intervention — precision irrigation for a 3-acre field can be achieved simply by entering the required data, allowing the entire operation to be completed in a single cycle. He highlighted various schemes and programmes being implemented by NABARD in Punjab’s agriculture and rural infrastructure sectors. He assured full support for innovative and path-breaking initiatives like this one, along with continued assistance for ongoing and upcoming projects. Appreciating the world-class irrigation facility installed at PAU, he noted that it would serve as an excellent demonstration model of precision and automated irrigation for the farming community.

Chief Conservator of Soils, Mohinder Singh Saini provided technical details of the NABARD-assisted project. He explained that inverted sprinkler systems are mounted on a 60-metre-long arm that revolves around a central pivot point, irrigating a 3-acre circular area without any manual labour. He added that the system significantly improves water use efficiency, enhances crop yields, and will act as a model for modern irrigation practices across the state.

Chandigarh, April 8:

Punjab’s arhtiyas, on Wednesday, called off their week-long strike after a meeting with Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Water Resources Minister Mr. Barinder Kumar Goyal, paving the way for wheat procurement to resume in the state mandis.

On the directions of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, S. Khudian and Mr. Goyal held detailed discussions with  a delegation of arhtiyas, led by Federation of Arhtiyas Association of Punjab president Vijay Kalra, on their various demands here at Kisan Bhawan.

Following the state government’s assurance of a sympathetic consideration and the resolution of genuine issues of arhtiyas, the federation announced the immediate withdrawal of the strike.

S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian stated, “The inclement weather conditions have hit our farmers hard. There is no doubt that all of us — the government, arhtiyas and other stakeholders — survive and thrive only because of our farmers. No one can single-handedly shield against the hardships ordained by nature, but together we can certainly stand by each other.”

He further assured the arhtiyas that his doors were always open for dialogue, while stating, “It is not necessary that we always hold a big formal meeting to resolve issues. Even small, sincere conversations can solve big problems. If any arhtiya or farmer faces any difficulty, just let me know. We will sit together and find a solution.”

Welcoming Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government’s proactive approach, Vijay Kalra said, “We are a family. Families resolve their differences through dialogue and the farmer remains our priority.”

Directing the officials to ensure a smooth, transparent and hassle-free wheat procurement, S. Khudian reiterated the CM Mann led Punjab government’s unwavering commitment to safeguard the interests of farmers while ensuring that the legitimate concerns of arhtiyas will be addressed at the earliest.

Chandigarh:

In a landmark achievement reaffirming India’s growing leadership in medical research, the Department of Dermatology, Venereology & Leprology at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research has been ranked 1st in Asia and 18th globally in Dermatology by EduRank in its 2026 rankings.

This accomplishment marks a hat-trick of excellence, with PGIMER retaining its No. 1 position in Asia for three consecutive years (2024, 2025, and 2026) while further improving its global standing from 19th last year.

Expressing his happiness, Prof. Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER, stated,“This outstanding global recognition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to academic excellence, research innovation, and patient-centric care. Being ranked 1st in Asia and 18th worldwide reflects the global impact of our scientific contributions based on an extensive body of high-quality research. I congratulate the Department of Dermatology for achieving this hat-trick milestone and bringing immense pride to the nation.”

The rankings are based on a rigorous analysis of 5.26 million citations across 329,000 academic publications from 806 universities in Asia, underscoring the depth, quality, and global relevance of PGIMER’s research output.

Notably, among the institutions ranked above PGIMER globally, 14 are premier centres from the United States—including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford—while leading European institutions such as University College London and Charité, Berlin also feature prominently, highlighting the elite global league in which PGIMER stands distinguished.

Sharing his perspective, Prof. Sanjeev Handa, Head of the Department, noted that this continued recognition reflects the relentless dedication, teamwork, and academic rigour of the department. He emphasised that despite managing an average daily outpatient load of nearly 450 patients, the department has consistently delivered impactful research while maintaining the highest standards of clinical care and education.

Prof. Handa attributed this achievement to the collective efforts of his team of distinguished consultants—Dr. Davinder Parsad, Dr. Sunil Dogra, Dr. Dipankar De, Dr. Sendhil Kumaran, Dr. Tarun Narang, Dr. Rahul Mahajan, Dr. Vinay Keshavmurthy, and Dr. Vinod Sharma—along with an equally committed group of senior residents, whom he described as the backbone of the department.

EduRank is an independent, metrics-based ranking platform evaluating over 14,000 universities across 183 countries, using one of the world’s largest scholarly databases comprising more than 119 million publications and 3.16 billion citations across 246 research topics.

This outstanding accomplishment once again reinforces PGIMER’s stature as a global leader in dermatology and a centre of excellence in medical education, research, and patient care.

Chandigarh

In a major step towards women empowerment, the Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday, rationalized the 33 percent reservation for women in the allocation of Fair Price Shop licenses. This will be implemented on a roster basis, ensuring that every third license is reserved for women. Within the women’s quota, preference will be given to victims of acid attacks, women’s Self-Help Groups (at least one per block), widows and divorced/single mothers, SC/BC and General category women.

The Cabinet approved amendments to further strengthen and streamline the functioning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state. The Cabinet gave its nod to the Haryana Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing & Control) Amendment Order, 2026, which amends the existing Haryana Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing & Control) Order, 2022.

The Government official spokesperson said that the amendments have been introduced with the objective of enhancing transparency, improving efficiency and ensuring greater accountability in the allocation and operation of Fair Price Shops (FPS) across the State. They also seek to promote inclusivity and wider participation, particularly by encouraging women to take part in the system.

Under the revised provisions, the eligibility criteria for obtaining a Fair Price Shop license have been clearly defined and rationalized. The Haryana Resident Certificate of current year has been made mandatory for the applicants. The FPS license shall now be granted as a minimum of 500 beneficiaries ration card/PPP instead of 300 ration cards. Applicants will now be required to have a minimum educational qualification of 10+2 along with basic computer knowledge. The age limit for applicants has been fixed between 21 and 45 years, and it will be mandatory for applicants to possess a valid Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) and to be residents of the concerned area. Government employees, existing license holders and their close family members, as well as elected representatives of local bodies, have been made ineligible in order to avoid any conflict of interest and ensure fairness in the allocation process. Strict provisions have been incorporated whereby any license holder who subsequently assumes an elected position in a local body or joins government service will be required to surrender the license, failing which it will be cancelled.

In a major step towards women empowerment, the Cabinet has rationalized the 33 percent reservation for women in the allocation of Fair Price Shop licenses. This will be implemented on a roster basis, ensuring that every third license is reserved for women. Within the women’s quota, preference will be given to victims of acid attacks, women’s Self-Help Groups (at least one per block), widows and divorced/single mothers, SC/BC and General category women.

The amendment also places significant emphasis on transparency by mandating adequate advertisements through DPRO which license for FPS are called for. The license for new FPS will be granted online through the SARAL platform that the entire licensing process will be conducted through an online system on the SARAL portal. Applications will be invited through wide publicity, including announcements at the local level and advertisements in newspapers, so that eligible applicants are adequately informed and can participate in the process.

Also the maximum age for FPS owner has been revised to 60 years extendable up to 5 years based on the written request and satisfactory performance. In case an FPS owner dies before 5 years of maximum age i.e. before attaining the age of 55 years, license will be granted to his legal heir.

The amendment further brings clarity to various definitions and operational aspects to align them with the National Food Security Act, 2013. It defines key terms such as ‘commodity’ and ‘family’ in a more precise manner by linking them with ration card and Parivar Pehchan Patra records.

The revised order also strengthens the legal and grievance redressal framework for Fair Price Shop owners. A new revision mechanism has been introduced, allowing any party aggrieved by a decision of the Deputy Commissioner to file a revision application before the Divisional Commissioner within 30 days.

IPE Chandigarh

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, while reviewing the progress of the Haryana AI Development Programme (HAIDP) in Chandigarh on Wednesday said that Rs 474 crore initiative being developed jointly with the World Bank under a 70:30 funding arrangement between the Bank and the state. It was informed in the meeting that the Preliminary Project Report (PPR) of the programme has been approved by the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, in January this year, following clearances from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for HAIDP is expected to be submitted in June. The programme aims to skill over one lakh residents in artificial intelligence and incubate more than 100 startups, among other objectives. It is structured around five key pillars aligned with the IndiaAI Mission, namely skilling and workforce development, startup financing and incubation, compute and datasets, use cases and applications, and ethical AI governance.

The review meeting was held following a two-day visit by a World Bank mission team to Panchkula on April 6 and 7. On the first day, various government departments were requested to identify potential AI use cases. Departments have been given 15 days to submit their inputs, after which priority use cases will be finalised for the state’s AI Innovation Sandbox.

The AI Innovation Sandbox is envisaged as a “test before invest” platform that will identify, validate and pilot AI solutions across priority sectors. The sandbox is fully funded by the World Bank.

On the second day of the visit, the mission team held a roundtable interaction with private sector firms. Discussions focused on compute procurement models, skilling initiatives and startup incubation frameworks.

Separately, the state is also pursuing two AI hubs under the IndiaAI Mission. The Haryana Advanced Computing Facility (HACF), proposed to be set up in Panchkula in partnership with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), is designed as a compute-intensive research facility. The Global Artificial Intelligence Centre (GAIC), planned in Gurugram in collaboration with NASSCOM, is envisaged as an incubation and industry collaboration hub. Fresh proposals for both facilities have recently been submitted to MeitY.

Chandigarh, April 08 – Haryana Labour Minister Sh. Anil Vij said that the state government has given a major gift to workers by increasing the rates of minimum wages, which will come into effect from April 1, 2026. He informed that approval in this regard was given in the Cabinet meeting held today.

Giving further details, Sh. Vij said that Haryana is the first state which, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and following the historic and visionary decision of implementing four new labour codes (the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Social Security Code, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020), has significantly increased minimum wages for workers in the state.

Minimum wage rates increased by around 35% – Vij

He said that this historic decision will benefit lakhs of workers in the state. He informed that the wages of unskilled workers have been increased from ₹11,274.60 to ₹15,220, reflecting an increase of about ₹3,945.40, which is approximately 35 percent. Similarly, the wages of semi-skilled workers have been increased from ₹12,430.18 to ₹16,780.74, showing an increase of ₹4,350.56, also around 35 percent.

Sh. Vij further said that the wages of skilled workers have been increased from ₹13,704.31 to ₹18,500.81, marking an increase of ₹4,796.50 (around 35%). Likewise, the wages of highly skilled workers have been increased from ₹14,389.52 to ₹19,425.85, reflecting an increase of ₹5,036.33, also approximately 35 percent.

He said that the four new labour codes—the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Social Security Code, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020—were implemented on November 21, 2025. With their implementation, 29 old and fragmented labour laws in the country have been simplified and rationally consolidated.

This is a significant increase in workers’ income – Vij

He further said that this decision reflects the state government’s sensitivity and commitment towards the welfare of workers. He said that this notable increase in workers’ income will not only improve their standard of living but also give a new impetus to the state’s economy.

Protecting workers’ interests is a priority – Vij

Sh. Vij also said that his priority has always been to safeguard the interests of workers and provide them with better working conditions. He assured that similar concrete and effective decisions in the interest of workers will continue to be taken in the future.

Workers are the backbone of the nation and the state’s economy – Vij

Sh. Vij said that workers are the backbone of both the national and state economies, and without their empowerment, overall development is not possible. With this perspective, the state government is continuously implementing worker-friendly policies. He also said that further comprehensive steps will be taken in the future to strengthen social security, health facilities, and safe working conditions for workers.

He expressed confidence that this historic wage increase will bring positive changes in the lives of workers and provide economic strength to their families.

IEP Chandigarh

Aam Aadmi Party’s National Media In-charge, Anurag Dhanda, launched a scathing attack on the BJP government of Haryana and Chief Minister Nayab Singh, accusing them of playing double politics over the water issue. He stated that the BJP has turned even the most sensitive issue connected to people’s lives—water—into a tool for its power games.

Anurag Dhanda mentioned that recent media reports have revealed the Delhi government is preparing to buy additional water from Haryana to meet its growing summer demand. This is the exact same BJP government that previously created hurdles at every level when the elected Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi attempted to purchase water from Himachal Pradesh. At that time, instead of facilitating water for the people of Delhi, the BJP government in Haryana and at the Centre deliberately worked to harass them. However, today, with a BJP government in power in Delhi, the Haryana government is instantly ready to supply water. This clearly exposes the BJP’s political character and its true priorities.

Anurag Dhanda highlighted that Haryana itself is going through a severe water crisis, yet despite this, the BJP government is talking about giving water to other states. According to official data, the state faces an annual water deficit of approximately 14 billion cubic meters, and more than 1,700 villages are suffering from a severe water shortage. Over the past five years, the groundwater level has continuously plummeted, dropping from 21.17 meters down to 23.02 meters. The situation is extremely alarming in districts like Mahendragarh, where the water level has sunk below a depth of 50 meters. In many districts, people are struggling for clean drinking water and are forced to consume contaminated water.

Anurag Dhanda pointed out the glaring irony: on one hand, people in Haryana’s villages are yearning for a drop of water, while on the other, the Nayab Saini government is preparing to supply water to Delhi and Rajasthan. He questioned whether this decision is actually based on necessity or if it is being driven purely by political gain. Citing the 1994 water-sharing agreement to justify giving additional water is merely an excuse; the reality is that the BJP operates on a policy designed to benefit states it rules while actively harming opposition-ruled states.

Anurag Dhanda stated that when Arvind Kejriwal’s government was in power in Delhi, the BJP weaponized water to torment the public. But today, that same BJP government is ready to provide water without a single hurdle. This is a highly dangerous sign for our democratic system and federal structure, where vital resources are being exploited for political interests rather than the public good.

Anurag Dhanda demanded that the Haryana government must first take concrete steps to resolve its own state’s water crisis, formulate a clear policy on groundwater conservation and water management, and transparently inform the public about the conditions and exact quantities of water being planned for transfer.

Anurag Dhanda concluded by stating that the BJP’s double politics is now fully exposed before the public. Turning a fundamental human right like water into a political weapon perfectly reflects the BJP’s mindset, and the Aam Aadmi Party will continue to expose this truth on every available platform.

Chandigarh, April 6: ‘G.S. Banga U-19 T20 Challenger Cup’ commenced on Monday with great उत्साह and enthusiasm. Chief Guest Gurnam Kaur formally inaugurated the tournament during a ceremony held at Guru Nanak Public School Sector 36. The tournament is being organized by GNPS Cricket Academy with the aim of providing a competitive platform to budding cricketers.

On this occasion, jerseys of the participating teams were also unveiled in the presence of PMS Banga, son of Late G.S. Banga, along with other distinguished guests and officials. A total of 83 balloons were released into the sky as a tribute to Late G.S. Banga.

All league matches of the tournament will be played at Guru Nanak Public School, where young players from across the region will showcase their talent and compete at a high level.

Speaking on the occasion, PMS Banga and organizer Jagteshwar Singh said that the primary objective of the tournament is to nurture emerging players and prepare them for professional cricket through a competitive environment.

The tournament will continue until April 14, while the final match will be played under floodlights at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium. Organizers have expressed confidence that the tournament will conclude on an exciting and grand note.