IEP SAS Nagar, October 17

Heads of Indian Missions abroad including the Ambassador of India to USA, Sh. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador of India to Netherlands, Ms. Reenat Sandhu, Ambassador of India to Russia, Sh. Pavan Kapoor, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Turkey, Dr. Virander Kumar Paul, Ambassador of India to Mongolia, Sh. Mohinder Pratap Singh, Ambassador of India to Togo Sh. Sanjiv Tandon, visited the Startup Punjab Hub (Neuron) at STPI Mohali today and interacted with the Invest Punjab team.  The Heads of Indian Missions toured the state-of-the art facilities including the GRIHA 5 rated Tier-III data centre, Neuron Centre of Entrepreneurship (CoE) and fully- equipped incubation space at STPI Mohali. Neuron CoE is an initiative to identify and evaluate promising start-ups in the field of AI/Data Analytics, IoT and AVG and have dedicated 500 seats incubation space with dedicated labs for AI/Data Analytics, IoT and AVG. Apart from physical infrastructure, the hub have the access to Technocrats mentorship, mentorship/training programs and VC funding. The delegates also interacted with leading start-ups of the State in various sectors like Agritech, Meditech, Fintech, Edtech etc. incubated at STPI Mohali.Jurisdictional Director STPI, Sh. Paritosh Dandriyal shared with the delegation, the Startup Ecosystem in Punjab and the support provided by the Government through Startup Punjab. The delegation was appreciative of the infrastructure and conducive ecosystem provided by the State Government and STPI in the region which has led to its emergence as an upcoming IT and Start-up hub in the country. This unique imitative will help the tech startups from Punjab to come on Global ICT map.CEO Invest Punjab Sh. Kamal Kishor Yadav, IAS, presented Invest Punjab’s one-stop-office model to facilitate investors in Punjab from project ideation and planning to execution and aftercare. He highlighted the industry-friendly policies of the government, Punjab’s connectivity in terms of road, railways, and airways, friendly labour relations with no domicile restrictions, and uninterrupted power supply which are conducive for businesses looking to set up their operations in Punjab.Discussing the strengths of Punjab’s industrial ecosystem and its potential for the world, CEO Invest Punjab also shared with the Heads of Indian Missions, the various opportunities for trade and collaboration between Punjab and the respective nations. The delegates acknowledged the state Government’s efforts towards promoting ease of doing business and growth of industry in Punjab and were looking forward to building long-term mutually beneficial relationship with Punjab.

IEP Chandigarh, October16

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal while taking strict cognizance of administrative irregularity of Food and Supplies Inspector, Satnarayan who had allegedly pressurized the villagers of Sotai village to withdraw their complaint, immediately suspended the said inspector. 

“In  future also, if any officer does not work within the fixed timeline or is found involved in malpractices, then strictest action would be taken   Every officer and employee should work with responsibility to ensure timely delivery of citizen-centric services to the general public, said Sh. Manohar Lal while addressing a Jan Samvad Programme held in Faridabad today. 

During the programme, more than 600 complaints were raised before the Chief Minister. Of these, 158 complaints  related to the Municipal Corporation and 89  related to the police. 

The Chief Minister said that these complaints have been sent to the concerned departments and directions have been given to resolve them all at the earliest. 

He said that some complaints have been resolved at the local level and the rest will be resolved after thorough investigation.

The data of the elderly and Persons with disabilities have been identified through Parivar Pehchan Patra and soon the pension benefits would be given to the verified beneficiaries, said the Chief Minister while responding to a grievance raised by an elderly regarding pension. 

The Chief Minister also gave Rs 2500 each to Sh. Rajender Singh and Sh.  Rattan Singh as their pension amount. He also assured them from next month onwards both will get the timely payment of their pension benefits. 

Responding to a complaint regarding the power department, the Chief Minister directed that the  Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and BPTP builder should find an amicable solution to this issue.  

The Chief Minister clarified that the common man should not be troubled because of a dispute between the two parties. He also directed to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of SDM.  

The Chief Minister also disposed of a case of disconnection of the power connection of Trilok Chand, a resident of  Mirzapur village. Besides this, he also announced giving Rs. 32,000 from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund so that Trilok Chand can pay the penalty imposed by the Bijli Nigam. He further directed the Nigam officers to restart his power connection immediately.

Readdresing another grievance raised by Abhishek, a resident of Adele Divine Society Sector-76, the Chief Minister said that more than 100 families reside in this society, therefore instead of commercial rate, the power supply should be ensured to the residents at the domestic rate. 

While responding to a grievance raised by an elderly Ram Singh, who had requested the Chief Minister to ensure pension benefits to his grandchildren, Sh. Manohar Lal directed the officers concerned that along with giving the orphan pension, an amount of Rs. 1 lakh should also be immediately given to the complainant.

Taking immediate action on the complaint given by Nagendra Rai against a private school, the Chief Minister said that if the school has given admission under 134A, why is the school not imparting education to the child?  

He said that strict action should be taken against the school by issuing a notice under 134A. 

Besides this, the Chief Minister also ordered action on some complaints received regarding pollution standards. He directed the officials of the Pollution Control Board to conduct a survey and submit its report within a month.

Responding to a query regarding irregularities in the Municipal Corporation Census data, the Chief Minister assured that there is no such irregularity in the said data. 

“PPP cards are being made by the State Government so that the verified information of every person is available to the government,” added Sh. Manohar Lal. 

Taking cognizance of a complaint regarding the mishandling of Panchayat data by the Sarpanch, the Chief Minister directed the police department to investigate the matter and take immediate action and also register an FIR against those found guilty. 

He further directed Suman Bhatia, a resident of Pyala village to immediately remove the upper floor of the house built right under the high-tension power lines.

Sh. Manohar Lal also listened to the complaints of the people by visiting the five grievance centres set up by various departments for public hearings.

After the Jan Samvad programme, the  Chief Minister along with his administrative wing also visited the Green Field Colony and directed the officers concerned to provide all the basic facilities to the colony residents.

Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries, Sh. Krishan Pal Gurjar, Transport Minister, Sh. Mool Chand Sharma, MLA, Smt. Seema Trikha, MLA, Sh. Narender Gupta, MLA, Sh. Nayan Pal Rawat, MLA, Sh. Rajesh Nagar,  Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, and Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Dr. Amit Agrawal and other dignitaries and officers also remained present on this occasion.

IEP Chandigarh, October 16

Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur today visited the Government Medical Hospital Sector-32 here to enquire about the well being of the boy and girl, who were injured by the escort vehicle. While the girl has been discharged, the boy got injured on his leg and is being operated. The Minister said that she met the family members of the boy who is out of danger now. I have asked the family members that I will bear the entire cost of the treatment.

The Cabinet Minister said, five of her security personnel were present at the hospital after the accident to take care of the boy and girl and they will stay in the hospital until the treatment of boy is complete.

She informed that on her request, the injured were taken to the hospital by her security personnel, who were travelling in the escort vehicle as the ambulance was taking time to reach.

“I am deeply saddened by the incident”, she categorically said.

IEP Chandigarh october 16

The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh took possession of prime land measuring 14 Kanal 16 Marla at village Dadumajra, here today.

MCC team including engineering wing and estate branch took possession of the said land with the help of police force. This land belonged to the erstwhile Gram Panchayat land and some unscrupulous persons had encroached upon the land and occupied it illegally.

After the Panchyats were merged with MCC, all the properties were  vested in MCC. Accordingly the Gram Panchyat land were mutated in favour of MCC by the revenue department, UT, Chandigarh.

Today after taking necessary directions from Ms Anindita Mitra, IAS, Commissioner, MCC, the team took possession of this prime land and fenced all the area after removing temporary encroachments.

The team also installed board in this land depicting that this land belongs to Municipal Corporation Chandigarh. Located on Dadumajra – Toga road ,this prime land was occupied by junk dealers and dumping of damaged vehicles was being done.

The MCC is in process of taking possession of other gram panchayat lands in the erstwhile villages of Khudda Ali sher, Khudda Lahora, Kaimbwala and Hallomajra 

IEP Bhavnagar (Gujarat), October 16

          Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday asserted that people of Gujarat have made up their mind to give mandate in favour of Aam Aadmi Party by ousting BJP from power.

          Addressing the gathering here the Chief minister said that winds of change blowing in favour of AAP have transformed into storm. Lashing out against Congress, the Chief Minister said that the party vociferously raising the issue of change in Gujarat but this party has been reduced to ‘MLA Exchange Party’ as most of its MLAs are being pouched by other parties. Slaming BJP for the miserable condition of common man in the state, Bhagwant Mann said that the saffron party is responsible for plundering the wealth of the people.

          The Chief Minister said that people of Gujarat are confronting same problems as were witnessed in Punjab prior to 2022 polls. He said that Gujarat is facing severe agriculture crisis, schools and hospitals are in shambles and the situation of roads are in pitiable situation, a situation which was in Punjab before 2022 polls. Bhagwant Mann said that the situation can change only if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is voted to power.

          Listing the several path breaking initiatives of the Aam Aadmi Government in Punjab, the Chief Minister said that from July 1 onwards the Punjab government has provided 600 units of free power to people in every bill cycle. He said that as a result of this around 50 lakh households out of total 72.66 lakh, which was roughly 68.71 %of total) have got zero power bill in the month of September. Likewise, Bhagwant Mann said that more than 17,000 government jobs have been given to the youth in last six months.

          Similarly the Chief Minister said that his government is against the exploitative contractual system of jobs due to which they had started process of regularising services of more than 30,000 contractual employees in state. Bhagwant Mann said that he has launched anti-corruption helpline after which corrupt elements are being put behind the bars. He said that only an honest government can take such path breaking and pro-people initiatives

          The Chief Minister said that in order to tackle the menace of stray cattle efficaciously, the state government is strengthening the Gau Sewa Commission. He said that the motive is to reduce the fatalities due to accidents caused by stray cattle on one hand and to ensure proper upkeeps of cow on the other. Bhagwant Mann said that efforts are afoot to ensure judicious utilisation of cow cess for welfare of cattle.

IEP Chandigarh, October 16

A ‘CME cum Workshop on Therapeutic Apheresis and Cellular Therapy’ based on the theme –
‘Expanding Horizons of Therapeutic Apheresis and Cellular Therapy’ was organized by the Department
of Transfusion Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh on 15 th & 16 th October, 2022, in collaboration with The
International Society of Blood Transfusion, (ISBT), Amsterdam, The Netherlands at Lecture Theatre-1,
Nehru Hospital, PGIMER, Chandigarh and it was conducted in a hybrid mode (Physical as well as
Virtual).
The CME on 16 th October, 2022 was inaugurated by Prof. Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER,
Chandigarh, the Chief Guest for the event. In his inaugural address, the Director highlighted the role of
Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in various neurological disorders and certain other clinical conditions
in improving the patient outcomes. He also shared his experiences regarding the challenges for beginning
the TPE programme at this institute. He also discussed how the approach evolved over the years for
neurological patients requiring TPE. He encouraged the transfusion medicine specialties to work together
with the clinicians as a ‘team’ for better patient care. Dr. Anil Kumar, Additional Deputy Director
General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi was the
Guest of Honor for the programme and he also released the ‘E-Souvenir’ on the occasion. In his address,
he highlighted the role of ‘e-Raktkosh’ portal in integrating the transfusion services across the country.
He also emphasized the role of coordination between transfusion services and clinicians for establishing a
successful therapeutic apheresis programme. Ms. Jenny White, Executive Director, International Society
of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), Amsterdam, The Netherlands highlighted the ISBT education initiatives
and resources to improve transfusion safety. Prof. N.K.Mehra, Former Dean Research, AIIMS, New
Delhi discussed the guidelines for stem cell research in India. Dr. David Stroncek, Medical Director
at NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A delivered a talked on CART–T cell Therapy–Manufacturing and
clinical application. Prof. David Mckenna, Department of Lab Medicine and Cellular Therapy,
Minnesota, U.S.A discussed the current status of mesenchymal stem cell therapy. Prof.
R.K.Chaudhary, Head, Department of Transfusion Medicine, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, India delivered a
talked on developing guidelines for clinical apheresis. Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava, Head, Department of
Neurology, AIIMS, New Delhi discussed the role of therapeutic plasma exchange in neurological
disorders: clinical perspective. Prof. Ratti Ram Sharma, Head, Department of Transfusion Medicine,
PGIMER, Chandigarh highlighted the transfusion specialist perspective for performing therapeutic
plasma exchange in neurological disorders. Dr. Raja Ramachanadran, Associate Professor, Department of
Nephrology, PGIMER, Chandigarh talked about the role of therapeutic plasma exchange in renal
disorders: Clinical perspective. Dr. Aseem Kumar Tiwari, Associate Director and Incharge, Department
of Transfusion Medicine, Medanta the Medicity Hospital, Gurugram highlighted the Transfusion
specialist perspective for performing the Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in renal disorders. Dr. Sunil
Taneja, Associate Professor, Department of Hepatology, PGIMER, Chandigarh talked about the role of
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in liver disorders: Clinical perspective. Dr. Meenu Bajpai, Professor,
Department of Transfusion Medicine, Institute of liver & Biliary Science (ILBS), New Delhi highlighted
the Transfusion specialist perspective for performing the Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in liver disorders.
Ms. Meenakshi Kaushik, Marketing Manager-India, Transfusion Medicine, Abbott gave a brief overview
of the Abbott Transfusion Health Institute "-Knowledge for Life”.

The workshop on 15 th October, 2022 was academically rewarding with highly interactive sessions. Dr.
Vijay Kumawat, Associate Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine & Haematology, NIMHANS,
Bengaluru discussed the basic principles of therapeutic plasma exchange. Dr. Archana Bajpai,
Additional Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine & Blood Bank, AIIMS, Jodhpur enumerated
about the basic format of ASFA guidelines. Dr. Rekha Hans, Associate Professor, Department of
Transfusion Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh highlighted the requirements for patient preparation and
stem cell harvesting. Dr. Divjot Singh Lamba, Associate Professor, Dept. of Transfusion Medicine,
PGIMER, Chandigarh discussed the quality control, processing and cryopreservation of stem cells.
Dr. Satya Prakash, Assistant Professor, Transfusion Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
Bhubaneswar talked about the management of adverse events during apheresis. Dr. Aikaj Jindal,
Consultant and Head of Department, Transfusion Medicine, SPS Hospitals, Ludhiana, Punjab discussed
about the Role of Apheresis Technologist / Nursing Officer. Dr. Satyam Arora, Associate Professor,
Department of Transfusion Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Child Health(PGICH), Noida, UP,
moderated the session dedicated to demonstration of the procedures where Dr. Kshitija Mittal, MD
(Transfusion Medicine), Assistant Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine, Government Medical
College and Hospital, Chandigarh highlighted the key elements of therapeutic plasma exchange, Dr.
Gopal Patidar, Associate Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi enumerated the TPE with Adsorption columns and Mr. Kiran from M/s
Fresenius Kabi India Pvt Ltd gave a presentation regarding the apheresis machines. Twenty Five
scientific abstracts were submitted by transfusion medicine researchers from the country and seven best
papers were presented as oral presentation and the reaming abstracts were presented as posters by the
authors.
Around 150 delegates from various parts of the country participated in this academic feast and it was well
received by both the transfusion medicine experts and the clinicians. These deliberations will go a long
way in further broadening the scope of therapeutic apheresis in various clinical conditions. The CME-
cum-Workshop ended with concluding remarks by Dr. Ratti Ram Sharma, Prof. and Head, Department of
Transfusion Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh where he highlighted the importance of therapeutic
apheresis in various clinical conditions for improving patient outcomes and the emerging role of cellular
therapy and its clinical applications.