IEP Chandigarh, February 2

In a bid to ensure clean & green environment to the people by promoting energy conservation in the state, Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr Aman Arora on Thursday felicitated government and private sector entities with State Energy Conservation Awards at Confederation of Indian Industrialists (CII) Northern Region Headquarters here.

          Addressing the State Level Energy Conservation Day and Award function organised by Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), Mr. Aman Arora said that Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is making concerted efforts to make Punjab Carbon Neutral state and energy conservation is the focus area to abate greenhouse gas emission to save environment.

          Dependency on fossil fuels for power generation is high, which lead to pollution and environment hazards, said the cabinet minister while emphasizing that with the expansion of the industry and need of more infrastructure, the demand of power is increasing day by day so shifting from conventional power generation to renewable energy sources such as Solar, Hydel, Biomass is the need of the hour.

In the state of Punjab, he said, around 2150 MW capacity renewable energy projects have been installed which is about 16% of the total installed capacity. Out of which, 1200 MW capacity of Solar plants installed in the state.

Apart from this, Punjab has taken the lead to develop and notify Punjab Energy Conservation Building Code by amending National Energy Conservation Building Code for the composite climate zone applicable in the state. The implementation has started by incorporating in the building bye-laws. Considering 8% growth in up-coming new commercial buildings, 18 Million Units of electricity consumption will be reduced by using Punjab ECBC leads to 15 thousand ton carbon dioxide emission abatements which is equivalent to planting 6 lacs trees per annum, he added.

          Urging the people to use the energy judiciously, Mr Aman Arora stated that energy efficiency in the buildings is one of the key areas to save energy in commercial sector by adopting energy efficient design, building material and using Energy Conservation Building Code. He also appreciated the efforts of PEDA for taking initiatives in the field of Energy Conservation & Energy Efficiency.

          Chairman PEDA Sh. H.S. Hanspal, emphasized upon the need of energy conservation and energy efficiency in the state to meet the gap between the demand and supply of power. He stressed to adopt renewable energy sources and use power judiciously adopting energy conservation & energy efficiency measures.

Chief Executive Officer PEDA Dr. Sumeet K. Jarangal highlighted the initiatives taken under energy conservation programs in the State. The awareness of energy conservation is being created through workshops / seminars, implementation of Energy Conservation Policies in Transport, Buildings, Industries sectors in consultation with various stakeholder departments, he added.

Earlier, PEDA has also signed MoU with 13 reputed Engineering Institutes / Universities for promoting innovative projects through Research & Development on Energy Conservation & Energy Efficiency. PEDA is also giving “State Recognition” to facilities/units who have taken extra efforts for Efficient Utilization, Management and Conservation of Energy during 2020-21 & 2021-22 in Punjab, said Dr. Jarangal.

On this occasion, the cabinet minister also inaugurated an exhibition organised for the visitors from various stakeholder departments / organisations regarding the use of Energy Efficient Materials in Buildings & Industries.

Director PEDA Mr. M.P. Singh thanked all the participants and urged to adopt energy conservation measures at their works and residences. Chief Architect Punjab Ms. Sapna & more than 200 participants attended this function.

Details of Energy conservation awards winners

Energy Intensive Industries (Designated Consumer) category (Textile)

1st Prize: M/s Vardhman Yarns and Threads Limited, Hoshiarpur

2nd Prize: M/s. Arihant Spinning Mills,Sangrur

Energy Intensive Industries (Designated Consumer) category (Pulp & Paper)

1st Prize: M/s. Khanna Paper Mills Limited, Amritsar

2nd Prize: M/s. Kuantum Papers Limited, VPO Saila Khurd, Tehsil Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur)

Manufacturing Enterprises category (Medium Scale)

1st Prize: M/s. Eastman Cast & Forge Limited,Ludhiana

2nd Prize: M/s. Auto International Ludhiana

Manufacturing Enterprises category (Large Scale)

1st Prize: M/s. Madhav Group, Patiala

2nd Prize: M/s. Hero Steels Limited, Ludhiana

Commercial (Government & Private) Buildings category (Offices)

1st Prize: M/s. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Jalandhar

2nd Prize: M/s. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Hoshiarpur

Educational Institutions (Government & Private) building category

1st Prize: M/s. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana

2nd Prize: M/s. Chitkara University, Rajpura Punjab

Hospital Building Category

1st Prize: M/s. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Sangrur

2nd Prize: M/s. Max Super Speciality Hospital (A unit of Hometrail Buildtech Pvt. Ltd) Mohali

Energy Auditing Agency Category (BEE Certified Energy Auditors)

1st Prize: M/s. PGS Energy Services Pvt. Ltd, Chandigarh

2nd Prize: M/s. Namdhari Eco Energies Pvt. Ltd,Sirsa, Haryana

IEP Chandigarh, February 2

Minister for Social Security, Women and Child Development Dr.Baljit Kaur said that Anganwadi workers and helpers who were serving in Anganwadi centers away from their homes have been given relief by being transferred through a transparent process.The cabinet minister said that the Anganwadi workers who were working 150-200 km away from their homes for a long time. Due to this, they were wasted a lot of time in travelling. They could  not take care of their family properly, she added.          Dr. Baljit Kaur said that the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to the welfare of employees. Under this, understanding the difficulties of Anganwadi workers, helpers and the importance of their families, relief was given by transferring them in a transparent manner.Minister has expressed hope from the Anganwadi workers and helpers that they will perform their services with full sincerity and dedication.

IEP Chandigarh, February 2

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government will provide uniforms to tiny-tots studying in LKG and UKG classes of the government primary schools in the state.

          Divulging further, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains informed, uniforms will be given to 3,51,724 toddlers studying in pre-primary classes, which are operational since 2017, in government schools of the state and Rs.21.10 crore has been released by the Education Department for this purpose. “Earlier, the school uniforms were not provided to these students, but after the matter came into my notice, the officials of the education department were directed to take immediate action in this regard”, he added.

          The Cabinet Minister said, special classrooms equipped with full of thing of toddlers interest have also been constructed for the pre-primary classes, adding that with the aim of overall development of the education sector in the state, the Mann government is making all possible efforts for the better future of lakhs of students studying in government schools.

IEP Chandigarh

The Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday evoked mixed reactions among various stakeholders. People involved in travel and tourism industries welcomed the annual exercise, while small and medium-scale traders felt it ignored the sector.

Mahender Singh who is pursuing Post Graduation Diploma (Travel and Tourism Management) in Panchkula based College said that overall, the budget is very good, and on behalf of the tourism industry, I’d like to welcome this budget. Referring to the mentioning of the tourism sector in the beginning of the budget speech, he said it was for the first time that the sector has been given such importance.

The general budget presented by Union Finance Minister has been described by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala as a budget to advance economic reform and industrial growth in the nation.

He said that new doors of progress will open with this budget and new employment opportunities will be created. He added that all sections of the society will be satisfied with the budget. Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Dushyant Chautala thanked the central government for including the state government’s digital library scheme in the central budget.

Chautala said that the Haryana government is moving ahead with the dream of building a digital library in every village and has been strenuously working in this direction for a long time. He said that it is commendable to include the plan of the Central Government to build a digital library in every village of the country in the budget and this will lead to a major achievement in the education sector. Dushyant Chautala said that this step of the government will strengthen the foundation of the future and rural children will be able to get better education facilities in the village itself.

 Terming union budget as anti-poor, farmers, labourers, small traders and farmers, Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the Budget is silent on the issue of preventing inflation and creating employment. Hooda said the people of the country and the state are struggling with problems like inflation and unemployment, but there was no provision in the budget to provide relief to people. “Farmers are agitating for MSP and employees are agitating for old pension scheme. The budget is silent even on their demands.

President of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee HS Lucky has termed the union budget as an eyewash and with no futuristic approach. Today taxes are being levied on every item in the form of GST and every citizen has to bear the brunt of taxes directly or indirectly.  The basic problem of price rise and unemployment has not been addressed in this budget. There is nothing  for the common man in the budget. The relief given to the common man is minuscule  and  the benefit of income tax is just an eyewash .

Terming the proposals of the budget, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam for 2023-24, as excellent, Aman Verma, a student of Panjab University Chandigarh said that the budget would do a lot of positive things in the coming years. A huge 33% increase in Capital Investment has been made to Rs. 10 Lakh Crores, which will have a cascading beneficial impact on all the segments of the economy. With regards to personal taxation, the Finance Minister proposed the New Tax Regime as the default system, with no tax applicable for income up to Rs. 7 lakhs. The basic tax slabs have also been revised, providing relief to taxpayers. For non-government salaried employees, the exemption limit on leave encashment has been increased to Rs. 25 lakhs from Rs. 3 lakhs. This huge jump will benefit a very large number of retiring employees.

Prateek Mittal, Executive Director of Sushma Group, said that this budget will boost realty prospects in tier 2 cities as it allocates Rs 10 lakh crore in capital investment outlay and intends to set up an urban infra development fund with an annual allocation of Rs 10,000 crore. Together, these two steps will lead to a massive creation of infrastructure – road, rail, metro and airports immensely benefitting the tier 2 cities. Further, a net reduction of 20-25% in income tax rates will also increase disposable income, and some of it will be invested in real estate

LC Mittal, Director of Motia Group said that the demand for real estate will rise as the government announced a new tax regime and tax rebate. Also, the tier II-III cities will see increased demand and supply as the Government pushes for their economic development. In the Budget, the FM said that the States and cities will be encouraged to work towards sustainable cities for tomorrow that will create additional real estate growth potential.

A government employee said that: “Investment of Rs 2.4 lakh crore in the railway sector, along with the development of 50 additional airports throughout the country, will greatly improve connectivity, making it easier for tourists to explore our country.”

Another student said that “Exemption limit in income tax has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to 7 lakh which will lead to a rise in money flow in the market.

Company employee said that the decision to expand the scope of services in DigiLocker to include MSMEs and make PAN a common identifier, would give boost user documentation, supporting the onboarding efforts of NBFCs and fintechs driving financial inclusion among such companies.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1*

:- Aiming at recovering all pending dues of service charges/property tax, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has started acting tough against the non-paying government institutions and autonomous bodies. The MCC has recently recovered 4.11 crores from authorities as service charges/property tax and one month notices have been served to the non-paying institutions who owe approximately Rs. 74.67 crores.While sharing this development, Sh Anup Gupta, Mayor Chandigarh today said that with regular efforts, the MCC has recovered 4.11 crores on account of service charges/property tax arrears from Hotel Shivalik view, Lake View and the Chef, sector 17 from the department of CITCO. Apart from that Haryana Govt. has paid up tax against buildings of mini secretariat and Haryana Tribunal tax. Employees State Insurance Corporation and Red Cross, Sector 16, Chandigarh respectively.He said that one month notices have been served to the non-paying institutions and autonomous bodies amounting to Rs. 74.67 lacs including Punjab University, PGI, PEC, Tech. Teachers Training Institute, Sector 26, Kendriya Primary School, Sector 31, Chd. College of Engg. New sector 26, Kendriya Vidyalaya, sector 29, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, sector 25, Regional Provi. Fund commissioner, sector 17, KV Primary school, sector 47, Nirman Sadan sector 33, Railway Station, Daria, IMTECH sector 39, Mini Sectt. Punjab sector 9, CRPF Camp sector 43, HRTC workshop, Ind. area Ph-I, Haryana PWD sector 19, Govt. Press & Prtg. Haryana sector 18, Chief Engineer, UT, Chandigarh respectively.He said that after the notice period, appropriate legal action will be initiated against the non-paying institutions as per law.