CHANDIGARH/FARIDKOT, July 4:

          In a firm demonstration of Punjab Government’s zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Crime Against Women (CAW) Faridkot Rajanpal has been placed under suspension for attempting to bribe the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Faridkot.

          As per the information, few days back, the SSP Faridkot had received a complaint against the DSP Rajanpal, wherein, the aggrieved party had accused him of taking money, for settling a matrimonial dispute and demanded action against the DSP.

          Divulging details, an official spokesperson of the Punjab Police said that accused DSP Rajanpal has attempted to offer a bribe of ₹1 lakh to the SSP’s office to settle the complaint filed against him.

          Taking swift and stern action, the Spokesperson said that Faridkot Police has registered a criminal case against the accused DSP and arrested him. Strict departmental proceedings will be initiated against the accused officer as per Punjab Civil Services rules, he added.

          “The Punjab Government is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and accountability within the police force. Any officer found indulging in corrupt practices will face stringent legal and disciplinary action,” said the spokesperson.

          In this regards, a case FIR No. 289 dated 04-07-2025 has been registered under sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station City Faridkot.

New Delhi/Chandigarh, July 4

Presenting a comprehensive overview of the state’s revenue landscape since the implementation of GST on July 1, 2017 during the first meeting of the Group of Ministers on analysis of revenue from Goods and Services Tax (GST) held in New Delhi, Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema emphasized on bringing structural changes in the GST regime and proposed policy recommendations for revenue augmentation, including food grains under the GST framework, reducing or nullifying the inverted duty structure, and making e-way bill generation and e-invoicing mandatory. He also suggested that a unified platform can be developed, giving access to all States and the Central Tax Authority for data analytics and detecting tax evasion and compliance issues.

Highlighting the significant revenue loss Punjab has faced due to the subsumption of various taxes after the implementation of GST, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that Punjab, as an agrarian economy, heavily relied on Purchase Tax and Infrastructure Development Fee (ID Fee) on sale of grains (Wheat and Rice), collecting Rs 3,094 crores in 2015-16, which represented 16.55% of its total tax revenue, and experienced a permanent loss of revenue as a result of subsuption of these taxes. He also pointed out the loss from the subsumption of Central Sales Tax (CST), which previously contributed Rs 568 crores to Punjab’s revenue in 2015-16.

Furthermore, Finance Minister Cheema highlighted that under the previous VAT regime, Punjab had a higher collection of revenue as compared to GST regime. The Minister expressed concern over a consistent shortfall in Punjab’s GST collection since July 2017, with actual revenue significantly lower than the projected revenue based on a 14% growth rate on the base year. He said that had GST not been implemented, Punjab’s revenue position would have been better, even with a conservative 10% CAGR growth. He said that Punjab has faced a revenue shortfall of Rs 47037 crore since 1st July 2022. He said that states dependent on agriculture, like Punjab, should be compensated for the permanent loss of revenue due to the subsumption of purchase tax on food grains.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also highlighted a paradoxical situation where major industrial sectors in Punjab, such as agricultural implements, cycle and cycle parts, and hosiery goods, show high gross turnovers but do not exhibit a commensurate increase in GST collection. This is largely due to GST being a destination-based consumption tax, leading to revenue flowing out of Punjab through SGST input tax credit adjustments against IGST liability, creating a net outflow of revenue.

Calling for policy intervention to reduce or nullify the inverted duty structure in GST, the Finance Minister Cheema said that it leads to substantial refunds and lower cash collections for the state. He said that approximately Rs 1,200 crores in refunds are disbursed annually by Punjab due to inverted duty structures and exports, further impacting revenue. Further recommendations included making e-way bills mandatory for evasion-prone commodities irrespective of the threshold, mandatory e-invoicing for B2B supplies for manufacturers and B2C supplies, mandatory mapping of IP addresses with GSTN and E-way bills for tracking fraudulent taxpayers, and the introduction of geo-fencing.

 Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also advocated for the development of a unified AI-based platform for data integration from various government portals for both central and state tax authorities, and mandatory biometric authentication for taxpayers registered before its implementation based on risk profiling. Lastly, he proposed automating ITC claims in GSTR 3B forms, limiting claims to the amount available in GSTR 2B to mitigate fraudulent claims.

 Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema concluded by stating that despite Punjab’s leading efforts in collection efficiency and revenue maximization, the state faces persistent challenges in revenue generation. Given its landlocked, agrarian nature, the Punjab Finance Minister emphasized the need for consideration to include food grains under the GST framework to address the ongoing revenue deficit.

Chandigarh 4 July 2025:

       Sanjeev Arora assumed the charge as Industries and Commerce, Investment Promotion and NRI Affairs Minister, Punjab today in Punjab Civil Secretariat Chandigarh. He was accompanied by his family members. He said that he will perform his duty with utmost devotion and dedication and leave no stone unturned for the welfare of the people of Punjab.

          He was welcomed by Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh, Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, Cabinet Minister Baljit Kaur, Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, MLA Rupinder Singh Happy, MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra, MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Kamal Kishor Yadav IAS, Amit Dhaka IAS, Surabhi Malik IAS, Senu Duggal IAS, A.S Rai IPS, State Information Commissioner Harpeet Sandhu and many other officers.

CHANDIGARH, July 3:

          With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state completed 124 days, Punjab Police on Thursday arrested 107 drug smugglers and recovered 1.2 kg heroin and Rs 21,980 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 20,287 in just 124 days.

          The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

          Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 220 Police teams, comprising over 1500 police personnel, under the supervision of 100 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 495 locations across the state leading to the registration of 78 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 506 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

          The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 71 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Chandigarh, July 3:

Exhorting the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department to gear up for ensuring a smooth and hassle free paddy procurement season from October 1st till November 15th this year, the Minister incharge of the Department Lal Chand Kataruchak today directed that all the necessary arrangements and mechanism must be put in place by September 15th.

Taking stock of the procurement arrangements during a review meeting at Anaj Bhawan, the Minister further gave instructions that during the period from September 15th to November 15th, no officer of the department should proceed on Ex India leave.

The Minister was apprised that preparations on war footing are being made for procuring 190 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) paddy and as regards the movement of rice to create more storage space, 68 LMT of rice has been moved out of the State from October 2024 till June 2025. Further, from August 2025 till June 2026 nearly 82.5 LMT of rice would be moved out at the rate of 7.5 LMT Per Month.

It was also brought to the notice of the Minister that the draft of the Custom Milling Policy for the year 2025-26 is likely to be ready within this month. Apart from this, the Labour & Cartege policy 2024 along with Foodgrain Transportation Policy 2024 has been extended till September 30th, 2025 so as to ensure a successful paddy procurement season.

On the quality aspect, the Minister was apprised that the services of the laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing end Calibration Laboratories (NABL) are availed for chemical testing of the foodgrains as per the FCI norms.

The Minister also directed the officers that the tarpaulins, wooden crates, Bardana and the mesh nets must be arranged in required quantity with emphasis on quality.

Regarding the e-KYC process, the Minister was informed that it has been completed with regard to 1.25 Crore beneficiaries out of 1.57 Crore and the people are being made aware that they must undergo the process in order to get ration under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

Urging the wholehearted cooperation of all the stakeholders to make the upcoming procurement season successful, the Minister said that no laxity in this regard shall be tolerated.

Among others present on the occasion included the Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rahul Tiwari, Director Varinder Kumar Sharma, Additional Secretary PUNGRAIN Kamal Kumar Garg, MD Punjab State Warehousing Corporation Vineet Kumar, Additional Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar and GM (Finance) Sarvesh Kumar.

Chandigarh, July 3:

Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman S. Jasvir Singh Garhi has embarked on a month-long personal visit to New Zealand, combining personal travel with mission-oriented activities.

According to a spokesperson, during his stay in New Zealand, S. Jasvir Singh Garhi will actively promote and disseminate the transformative ideology of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the visionary principles of Sahib Sri Kanshi Ram Ji among the community.

The Chairman is scheduled to return to India in the first week of August and will subsequently resume his official responsibilities at the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission.

Chandigarh, July 3:

In a remarkable feat, the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (MRSAFPI), SAS Nagar (Mohali) sent 21 cadets to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and other prestigious defence training academies in just three weeks. This impressive achievement adds to the institute’s illustrious legacy, with a total of 276 cadets having been inducted into various defence training academies since its inception.

Sharing this today, Director MRSAFPI Major General   Ajay H. Chauhan, VSM, (Retd) informed that a total of 18 cadets joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) for its-154 Course, including Aryan Sofeth and Ojas Gaint from Patiala, Anhad Singh Khatumria, Armaanvir Singh Adhi, Harkanwal Singh, Prjveer Singh and Aditya Mishra from Mohali, Bhavik Kansal from Sangrur, Mohanpreet Singh, Balraj Singh Heera and Ishaan Sharma from Ropar, Ranbir Singh and Ishmeet Singh from Bathinda, Samarvir Singh Heer and Nimit Soni from Jalandhar, Manjot Singh from Gurdaspur, Udhaybir Singh Nanda and Gurvanshbir Singh from Tarn Taran.

Additionally, Cadet Gagandeep Singh from Kapurthala joined the Cadet Training Wing of College of Military Engineering (CME) Pune for the Technical Entry Scheme (TES)-53 Course, while Cadets Arshdeep Singh from Gurdaspur and Karan Kaushish from Mohali joined the Air Force Academy for the 218 Course, he added.

While congratulating the cadets for joining the training academies, the Director Chauhan stated that some cadets of the Institute are still awaiting their joining letters and the Institute remains committed to becoming the primary feeder institution for the Armed Forces. Wishing the cadets success in their training, he urged them to work diligently while striving to become exemplary officers who bring pride to Punjab and the nation.

Chandigarh, July 3

Defence Services Welfare Minister Mohinder Bhagat has directed officers to take concrete steps to strengthen the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO) to better serve ex-servicemen and their families.

Chairing a review meeting at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Minister assessed PESCO’s operational framework, financial health, and employee welfare measures. A major part of the discussions revolved around enhancing employment opportunities for ex-servicemen through PESCO.

Managing Director, PESCO, Major General Harmandeep Singh (Retd), and General Manager (Security), SP Singh, apprised the Minister of the Corporation’s ongoing programs. Three-month progress report was also submitted during the meeting. Key topics included the salary structure of security guards, proposals to enhance their wages under the special category, and the streamlined appointment process for ex-servicemen in various roles.

Minister Mohinder Bhagat reaffirmed the Punjab Government’s commitment to reinforcing PESCO’s role in ex-servicemen welfare. He assured that necessary steps would be taken to address financial issues, increase the age limit for services by ex-servicemen.

To further assess on-ground operations, the Minister also expressed his intention to visit PESCO facilities in the near future. He reiterated that the government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is fully committed to ensuring the dignity and well-being of ex-servicemen and their families.