Category Archives: Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Punjab

Punjab CM accepts resignation of Baba Farid medical varsity VC

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 11, 2022

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has accepted the resignation of Dr Raj Bahadur, the vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences who was allegedly forced to lie on a dirty mattress at a hospital by the state’s health minister during an inspection.

The state government has given the charge of the university VC to the director, medical education. The CM after accepting the resignation forwarded it to the Punjab governor. Dr Raj Bahadur had tendered his resignation after he felt ”humiliated” at the hands of Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra.

It happened last month when Jouramajra was on an inspection to Faridkot’s Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, which comes under the university.

A video clip of the incident that circulated on social media had shown Jouramajra placing a hand on the veteran surgeon’s shoulder as he pointed towards the ”damaged and dirty condition” of a mattress at the hospital. The minister was then seen allegedly forcing Dr Bahadur to lie down on the same mattress.

After the incident, Dr Bahadur had conveyed to the Punjab chief minister the ”humiliation” and requested that he be relieved from service as the work environment was not conducive. The incident had triggered an outrage and various doctors’ bodies, including the Indian Medical Association, flayed the health minister over his behaviour and demanded his dismissal from the state Cabinet.

Chandigarh

Haryana Govt will give guaranteed jobs to Agniveers, says Khattar

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 11

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar informed the Assembly on the last day of the monsoon session on Wednesday that Agnipath is a very beneficial scheme. Under this scheme, the Central Government has made a provision to give 10 percent reservation to the Agniveers in paramilitary forces and Assam rifles. The Haryana government will also be giving guaranteed government jobs to these Agniveers. A policy in this regard will be framed immediately.  Some private industrialists have also offered jobs to these Agniveers, informed Khattar.

Haryana players who secured medals at Commonwealth games to be felicitated in Gurugram on August 16

The Chief Minister said that the players of the State have performed brilliantly in the Commonwealth Games. Out of the state’s contingent of 43 players, 29 players won medals and one player came fourth. A felicitation ceremony will be held on August 16 in Gurugram to honour these players. The Chief Minister congratulated all the people of the state on the eve of Raksha Bandhan. Free transport facility will be provided to the women till 12 midnight, he added.

Haryana to celebrate Har Ghar Tiranga campaign from 13 to 15 August
The Chief Minister said that yearlong programmes will be organized in the State under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence. Besides this, the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign will be celebrated across the country from August 13 to 15. In Haryana also, the tricolour will be hoisted at every house.

Govt to open 500 Model Sanskriti schools

Khattar said that the admission process in schools other than Model Sanskriti schools will continue as earlier. However, the State Government has fixed a target of opening 500 Model Sanskriti Schools across the State, of which 138 have already been opened. Education is being imparted in these schools through English medium. In these schools, free education is being imparted to the children of families having an annual income of upto 1.80 lakh. While nominal fee is being charged from the students belonging to families above this income group, said Khattar. The Chief Minister said that some people wish to get their children enrolled in private schools, fulfilling the same, the State Government has implemented ‘Cheerag’ scheme. Under this scheme, the government will give Rs 700 to private schools for children  studying in the classes from I to V, while an amount of Rs 900 and Rs 1100  will be paid for the students studying in classes VI to VII and IX to XII respectively. So far around 300 schools have given their consent under this scheme and 2700 children have enrolled, informed Khattar.

Chandigarh, Punjab

CII assures job placement for students after successfully completing of Program

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 10, 2022

A significant initiative for skill development in Indian hospitality undertaken by industry body CII, an 18-month Vocational Education and Training (VET) Professional Diploma program by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne/EHL Education Group of Switzerland – will be delivered at CII Institute of Hospitality in Chandigarh and IHCL Hotels in New Delhi.

A total of 100 students who have passed their higher secondary education (12th) will be enrolled in the first batch at CII Institute of Hospitality for the first 6 months and will be trained for 1 year at luxury IHCL properties in New Delhi. CII has assured 100% placement to students upon successful completion of their respective VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma programs, that is recognized by all major hospitality chains worldwide.

Rohit Jain (Project Head – CII Institute of Hospitality) commented that, “We at CII aim to direct the attention to the need for skilled, globally benchmarked talent in the Indian Hospitality industry. To deliver global standards of hospitality skills, CII & IHCL Hotels partnered with the 129-year-old EHL Group, – the global reference in education, innovation and consulting for the hospitality and service sector. It is ranked as the No. 1 hospitality and leisure management school in the world. The students will be able to hone their skills though interactions with guests at a live and running IHCL Hotel. The Program endeavours to strengthen the talent pipeline in India – as we aim to expand our presence in the country whilst adding more hotels to the Program in the coming years. We are expecting to enrol close to 10,000 students nationally over the span of 3 years”

He further added, “We have a rapidly growing accommodation offering across the tourist destinations and a sizable population affluent with English in the country. The program provides the students who have passed 12th standard with a splendid opportunity to skill and reskill themselves with an international curriculum, while placing them on par and contributing to the ever-expanding hospitality and tourism industry of India. The students will benefit from on-the-job training at the best IHCL Hotels

Adding to this already “mega collaboration” of Industry giants is Save Max Global Education – Bringing global presence and a standardised hospitality atmosphere to this initiative. An iconic Canadian brand, Save Max has diversified Business Interests in Real Estate, Global Education and the Health Sector. SaveMAX’s association with CIIand IHCL Hotels is focussed on providing a solid foundation for the students’ career. As one of its verticals is education, Save Max group has set up CII Institute of Hospitality in Chandigarh and Kolkata to impart the first 6-month of institutional training

Expressing his view on the noble initiative focused on the youth of the country Mr Raman Dua , Founder & CEO of Save Max Group of Companies said, “ We cannot Always build the future for our youth, but we can build our Youth for the future.”- Franklin D. Roosevelt With this note, I would like to opine that Save Max Global Education Pvt. Ltd strives to bridge the gap between the current learning outcomes and what is required through major reforms that bring the highest quality, equity, and integrity of the educational system . We at Save Max Global Education Pvt. Ltd., with a vision to turn every citizen into a skilled workforce for suitable employment joined hands with CII in collaboration with EHL and IHCL to start CII Institute of Hospitality at Kolkata and Chandigarh.’

The VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma Programs will be delivered at IHCL Hotels by the best of industry experts as faculty. Mr. Sumeet Taneja (Area Director – Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh & J&K at IHCL and General Manager – Taj Chandigarh) said: “We have an excellent faculty for this program. At IHCL Hotels we consistently upgrade the training skill set and integrate new learnings to the modules. Our faculty at each IHCL Hotel has been trained and certified by EHL and CII. They bring with them immense experience and knowledge. Moreover, students will be able to learn through interactions with guests in real work settings at Taj Hotels. The programme will allow us to strengthen our talent pipeline as we continue to expand our presence in the country. We intend to add more hotels to this programme in 2022.”

He added: “This program provides students a splendid opportunity to skill and reskill themselves with an international curriculum closer to home and contribute to the immense Hospitality and Tourism potential of the state. This Swiss Professional Diploma programme will place them on par, if not above, with students from leading hospitality schools in India, with the benefit of On-the-Job training.”

Praveen Roy (Associate Director at EHL Advisory Services) said, “The VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma Program is based on the principles of the world-renowned Swiss Competency Framework. It has been developed over a two-year period with the involvement of EHL subject matter experts and faculty members, as well as with global industry feedback. The objective is to prepare the youth worldwide for frontline job roles in the hospitality industry at global standards. Students of the program in India will be at a significant advantage with future employers, in global mobility and in their career progression. They will acquire the relevant knowledge and competencies required by the industry at par with international programs.”

The VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma is delivered in a blended format where the students will have opportunity to learn and develop their skills at CIIIH and hone them at select IHCL hotels. The Swiss Professional Diploma is spread over 18 months and comprises of three levels of learning – Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced. The Program will offer learning in three distinct streams: ‘Culinary’, ‘Food & Beverage Service’ & ‘Rooms’ – that follow VET by EHL’s rigorous quality-assurance standards. Each certificate level builds skills on top of the previous and culminates into a VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma. 

Students will get online access to a world-class global Learning Management System (LMS). They will be assessed on both theoretical knowledge on the LMS as well as on practical skills acquired during training. On completion, the students will become a part of the prestigious VET by EHL Global Alumni Network. Furthermore, CII will assist the students to enrol themselves into a UGC recognized degree. 

The students are also assured a 100% placement after successful completion of the Program by CII. Backed by the international diploma, being job ready in 18 months and with real-life learning experience at luxury hotels of IHCL, they will be sought after by all premium hotel companies in the country and abroad. 

The total fee for the program is INR 3,30,000/- (plus taxes).

Student should have cleared 12th standard from a recognized board in India with a minimum 50% marks in English, to qualify for enrolment to the VET by EHL Swiss Professional Diploma Program

Chandigarh

Civil Surgeon reviews various health programs and schemes

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IEP CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 10, 2022

Civil Surgeon Dr. Adarshpal Kaur held a monthly review meeting with the District Program Officers and Senior Medical Officers and gave instructions for more effective implementation of various health programs and schemes. Emphasizing on the prevention of dengue, malaria, chikungunya and other diseases that mostly occur in the rainy season, the civil surgeon asked all the officials to make people more aware about the symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment of these diseases and step up house-to-house anti-dengue drive. She said although the cases of dengue fever are very less this year compared to last year, still vigilance is very important.

         Dr. Adarshpal Kaur also asked the officials to make the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign a success. Taking stock of the preparations of ‘Aam Aadmi Clinics’ starting from August 15, the Civil Surgeon said that as of now all the 14 clinics are to be functional in the district on August 15 and concerned officials should ensure that all the arrangements are in place.

           The civil surgeon specifically directed the doctors not to prescribe medicines which are available at outside chemist shops. She further said that patients should be given medicines from the hospital pharmacy itself. She said that emergency teams and kits should be ready in ambulances at all times. Health officials were asked to pay special attention to cleanliness in the hospitals as well. She said that punctuality and discipline must be maintained in every hospital and timely attendance of staff is mandatory. She further said that the staff dealing directly with the public should be present in their seats. She added that corruption or bribery in any government hospital or institution will not be tolerated at all.

          Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr. Renu Singh, Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr. Parvinder Pal Kaur, District Immunization officer Dr Girish Dogra, District Health Officer Dr. Subhash Kumar, District Epidemiologist Dr. Akshay Kumar, Dr. Harmandeep Kaur, all senior medical officers etc. were present in the meeting.

Chandigarh, Punjab

1.67 LAKH MORE DOSES OF GOAT POX VACCINE TO REACH PUNJAB BY TOMORROW MORNING: LALJIT SINGH BHULLAR

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Punjab Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Monday, affirmed that second consignment of 1.67 lakh more doses of Goat Pox vaccine will reach Punjab tomorrow morning i.e. August 9, 2022.

“Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led government was making all-out efforts to save cattle from lumpy skin disease, said the cabinet Minister, adding that this vaccine, certified by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izat Nagar (Uttar Pradesh), is being air-lifted from Ahmedabad, which will reach Chandigarh by the morning of August 9. He said that senior officials of the department have already been instructed to deliver it well before the same day evening to all the districts and disease-affected areas of the state so that healthy cattle can be protected in advance from the infection.

Pertinently, the government has distributed more than 66k doses of Goat Pox vaccine in all the districts, which is being administered to healthy animals free of cost.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Chief Secretary directs all departments to ensure necessary arrangements to address water and air pollution issues

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua today directed all departments concerned with controlling water & air pollution to work on a war footing in order to make Punjab and its rivers and streams pure and clean.

Reiterating the commitment of chief minister Bhagwant Mann to make a pollution free environment in the state, the Chief Secretary reviewed the discharge of sewage and effluents and disposal of solid and plastic waste in the state.  

While reviewing the water pollution of rivers due to discharge of sewage and effluents, the Local Government Department apprised that out of 111 STPs of about 785 MLD capacity proposed to be set up in the State, the work in 53 STPs (617.5 MLD) is already in progress. All the 111 STPs are likely to be made functional by December 31, 2023 and the State would be able to achieve the desired quality in the rivers. As far as pollution of river Sutlej is concerned, the 2 STPs at Jamalpur (225 MLD) & Balloke (60 MLD) are likely to be completed by March 31, 2023. Further, the Common Effluent Treatment Plants of 40 MLD & 50 MLD capacity for the treatment of Textile Dying Effluents at Ludhiana have already been commissioned.

Regarding the treatment of Dairy Effluents in Ludhiana, the work for setting up of the Compressed Bio Gas Plant to treat 300 Tons/day of Cow dung has been awarded. Further, there is a plan to set up one more Bio Gas Plant at Haibowal Dairy Complex which will handle around 200 Tons/day of Cow dung.Further, regarding the treatment of Liquid Waste being generated from Tajpur & Haibowal Dairy Complexes, the work on setting up of 2 ETPs is under progress and is likely to be completed by March 31, 2023.

In the meeting Rural Development & Panchayats Department informed the Committee that the work of rejuvenation of ponds has been completed in 860 villages and is under progress in 515 villages. 

The Chief Secretary was appraised by PPCB  that the State is strictly enforcing the ban on Single use plastic items as per the directions of Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India. A State Level function had also been organized under the guidance of Chief Minister and Science Technology & Environment Minister on August 5, 2022 for creating awareness among public. 

The Chief Secretary was also apprised that Solid Waste Management, door to door collection and segregation of waste at source has been started. Further, around 8250 compost pits have been constructed for the management of wet waste and 266 material recovery facilities have been set up for the management of dry waste.

Regarding the Bio-remediation of old dump sites, it was informed that the work in 114 ULBs is to be completed by December 31, 2022, 32 ULBs by March 31, 2023 & 2 ULBs by March 31, 2024. The Local Government department has also set up micro units in 139 ULBs for the processing of construction and demolition waste. A 60 TPD Plant has also been commissioned at MC, Jalandhar.

Prominent among others who were present in the meeting included Financial Commissioner Rural Development K. Siva Prasad, Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development Ajoy Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary Local Government Vivek Pratap Singh, Secretary Environment Rahul Tiwari, Chairman Punjab Pollution Control Board Dr. Adarsh Pal Vig, CEO Punjab Water Supply & Sewerage Board Varinder Kumar Sharma, CEO PMIDC Isha Kalia, CEO PEDA Sumeet Jarangal, Director Environment Manish Kumar.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Pending VAT cases to be resolved within four months: Harpal Singh Cheema

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday directed the officials of the tax department to resolve all the pending VAT cases within 4 months to ensure an increase in revenue collection, that will be used for the development of the state.

During an informal interaction with media after a review meeting of the Tax Department here at Punjab Bhawan, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said that the department has been asked to resolve the pending cases related to VAT within 4 months. Those cases in which 25 per cent of the assessed amount has not been deposited by the appellant, they, should be resolved within one month, he directed.

He said that apart from this, the officials of the department have been directed to follow-up all the cases  under hearing in the VAT Tribunal and the High Court to put the department’s view clearly in front of these forums.

Replying to a query regarding the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, the Finance Minister said that when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was a member of Parliament, he had strongly opposed the move when this bill was brought earlier by the BJP led Centre government in 2020 along with three black farm laws, At that time, then Union Minister and SAD Leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had supported the Bill. He further added that while withdrawing this bill at that time, the central government had promised that the state governments, farmers and other stakeholders would be consulted before bringing this bill again.

But breaking its promise the BJP’ led government has once again brought the bill without consulting stakeholders.  “The BJP led Centre government is trying to appease its corporate cronies”, said Cheema while adding that the Aam Aadmi Party will oppose any such move by holding protests from villages to parliament to safeguard the rights of farmers and common people.

Earlier, during a high-level meeting of the tax department, the finance minister was apprised of the achievements of various divisions of the department regarding tax collection under GST, VAT and CST through a PowerPoint presentation. Meanwhile, a brainstorming discussion held on the issue of putting a full stop on tax evasion. The Finance Minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of the officials of the tax department and assured to provide necessary technical and human resources while welcoming the suggestions given by the officials to prevent tax evasion. He also made it clear that corruption will not be tolerated at any level.

          Ajoy Sharma, Financial Commissioner Taxation, K. K. Yadav, Tax Commissioner, Ravneet S Khurana, Additional Commissioner Audit and Viraj S. Tidke, Additional Commissioner Enforcement were also present in this meeting.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Minority students can apply till September 30 to get stipend under centrally sponsored schemes : Dr. Baljit Kaur

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

To avail Centrally Sponsored Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit Cum Means Based Scholarship Schemes disbursed by the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, students from the minority sections can apply till 30th September 2022. 

Stating this here today, Minister of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities  Dr. Baljit Kaur said  the department is continuously working for the welfare of the needy and economically weak people of the state. It is under this mission that pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarship for the minority class are being given. 

Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that during the academic year 2021-22, 5,03,179 students have been benefited by scholarship under the pre-matric scholarship scheme, 55,430 students under the post-matric scholarship scheme and 1716 students under the merit cum means scholarship scheme. The Ministry of Minorities, Government of India has opened the National Scholarship Portal for all the States on 20th July 2022 to provide the benefit of these schemes to the students during the current year 2022-23. 

Students can apply online till 30 September 2022 for pre-matric scholarship scheme and online till 31 October 2022 for post matric scholarship scheme, merit-cum-means based scholarship. To avail this scheme, the student should belong to minority community (Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Christian), income limit for pre-matric scholarship is Rs.1.00 lakh per annum, income limit is Rs.2.00 lakh for post-matric scholarship and merit-com – Income limit for all means is Rs 2.50 lakh. Under this scheme one can apply on the National Scholarship portal www.scholarships.gov.in and for more information visit the site link www.minorityaffairs.gov.in or mobile app-National Scholarship (NSP). Apart from this information can be obtained on helpline number 1800-11-2001 (toll free).

Chandigarh

Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer directs education department to constitute high level committee to probe irregularities in aided and private colleges

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Higher Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer has directed that a high level committee be constituted to probe the allegations regarding the irregularities in Aided and private colleges. He was chairing  meeting with Principal Secretary Jaspreet Talwar, DPI (Colleges) Rajiv Kumar Gupta and other officers to review the functioning of the department. 

The Minister took the stock of the current position of the Centralized Admission Portal and instructed the officers to ensure that the all the government colleges and aided should be taken on board and no college should be left in this regard.

Meet Hayer told the officers that the curriculum of the various courses should be revised as per the needs of the current day environment, need of industry, modern day requirements and a meeting of the Vice Chancellors should be called and immediate steps should be taken to review the syllabus of various programmes. 

The Minister also reviewed the various Budget Schemes for the development of the Government colleges of the state and asked the officials to implement these schemes for the welfare of the students and ensure money allocated for the various tasks should be judiciously used.  The schemes emphasized on the Career guidance and counseling, Infrastructure development, Wi-Fi and internet facilities for the colleges, meritorious student’s scholarships, Development of Sports infrastructure, renovation of public libraries and creation of New infrastructure for the government colleges. He also reviewed the various issues relating to NCC.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Vigilance Bureau nabs RTA Bathinda employee for taking bribe Rs. 7500

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Keeping in view the zero tolerance policy against corruption adopted by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state government, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau during its ongoing campaign on Monday nabbed Bhalwan Singh, working as data entry operator at RTA office Bathinda, red handed accepting bribe of Rs. 7500.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) said the accused Bhalwan Singh has been arrested on the complaint of Raghbir Singh from Mansa, owner of private mini buses.

Giving details he informed that the complainant has lodged a complaint in the VB and alleged that the above mentioned data entry operator was demanding bribe for issuing a copy of bus permit for his passenger bus.

The spokesperson added that after verification of the facts made in the complaint, a VB team caught accused Bhalwan Singh red handed while accepting bribe of Rs. 7500 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case FIR  No. 6 dated 08.08.2022 u/s 7, Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at VB police station Bathinda and further investigation is under progress.