Chandigarh, November 14:

Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab Government is taking significant steps for the welfare of adults with special needs. As part of these efforts, 67 adults with special needs have been issued Legal Guardianship Certificates within the past one month.

Providing further details, Dr. Baljit Kaur said that legal guardianship is an authorised legal mechanism under the National Trust Act, 1999, aimed at ensuring the welfare, protection, and empowerment of adults with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disability, and Multiple Disabilities. Under this Act, a responsible guardian is legally appointed for adults who are unable to independently manage essential daily tasks due to their disabilities. This guardianship enables smoother decision-making, documentation processes, banking, healthcare-related procedures, and access to various government schemes.

The Minister further added that a legal guardian may be a parent, sibling, close relative, or a responsible person associated with a registered social service organisation, and such appointments are approved through the designated committee.

Dr. Baljit Kaur said that these certificates bring a transformative change in the lives of persons with special needs, as they provide legal protection, safeguard their rights, and ensure easier access to government facilities and services.

She also highlighted that the Punjab Government has implemented several schemes and extensive support facilities to connect persons with special needs to the mainstream and to improve their overall quality of life.

Dr. Baljit Kaur said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann has issued clear instructions that no person with special needs should be left behind and that comprehensive support must be provided at every level.

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, November 14:

          In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Amritsar, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence Pathankot,  has busted a gangster module with the arrest of three operatives and recovered two .30 bore Star-mark pistols along with two magazines and 15 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.

          Those arrested have been identified as Yusuf Masih alias MP, a resident of Dharamkot Bagga in Batala, Samuel Masih alias Ankit alias Anki, a resident of Pinda Rori in Batala and Sahibjit Singh alias Sabhi, a resident of Haruwal in Batala. Apart from recovering two weapons, police teams have also impounded their Maruti Swift car, bearing registration number PB02DQ0314, which they were using to carry out criminal activities.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were acting on the directions of Armenia-based wanted Gangster Raja Haruwal, who arranged the delivery of the recovered weapons. The module used to transport weapons and money, besides, conducting recce of multiple targets for extortion, he said.

          The DGP said that further investigation is underway to identify forward and backward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network.

          Sharing operational details, AIG SSOC Amritsar Sukhminder Singh Mann said that acting on a specific input, police teams have apprehended the accused persons from the Batala area after recovering weapons from their possession.

          The AIG said that all three arrested persons carry a criminal background with cases, pertaining to abduction, attempt to murder, and possession of illegal weapons, registered against them across Batala, Gurdaspur and Amritsar.

          In this regard, a case FIR No. 67 dated 13.11.2025 has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station State Special Operation Cell, Amritsar.

Chandigarh, 14 November 2025:

In a major boost to its national investment engagement efforts, the Government of Punjab has successfully concluded a high-impact outreach across Hyderabad and Chennai, generating strong interest from leading South Indian industries ahead of the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit 2026.

The delegation was led by Cabinet Minister for Industries & Commerce, Investment Promotion, Power and NRI Affairs, Shri Sanjeev Arora, accompanied by senior officials from the Department of Industries & Commerce, Punjab Development Commission (PDC) and Invest Punjab. The engagements covered a wide spectrum of sectors including mobility, aerospace, defence, electronics, IT, food processing, healthcare, tourism and engineering services.

The Hyderabad leg featured focused interactions with prominent organisations such as Ceph Life Sciences, Vibrant Energy, ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, TiE Global, Baba Group of Companies, Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases, Visakha Pharmacity (Ramky Group), and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). BEL expressed interest in integrating more Punjab-based MSMEs into its defence and electronics supply chain.

Shri Arora also met Shri Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP and Founder of Ramky Group, exploring large-scale possibilities in infrastructure and manufacturing.

A detailed visit to the BrahMos Aerospace facility discussed participation opportunities for Punjab’s MSMEs in India’s growing aerospace ecosystem.

The delegation also visited Sindhu Hospital, established by the Hetero Group under Dr. B. Partha Saradhi Reddy, MP (Rajya Sabha), identifying avenues for cooperation in advanced healthcare, diagnostics and medical technology.

An evening interaction brought together senior representatives including Dr. Reddy, Prof. Dulal Panda (NIPER Mohali), Abhijit Banerjee (Linde India), Varun Surekha (Hartex), Sudhakar Rao (ICFAI) and Anirudh Gupta (DCM Group). Stakeholders highlighted Punjab’s strong research ecosystem, improved ease of doing business and proactive regulatory mechanisms.

Chennai Roadshow Highlights

Chennai echoed similar enthusiasm. The delegation met senior leadership from

Hatsun Agro, Portman Enterprises, CavinKare, Garuda Aerospace, Bahwan CyberTek, GlobalLogic (Hitachi), Virtusa, Rattha Group and Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital.

Key areas of discussion included food processing, clean mobility, engineering design, digital transformation and healthcare services.

The interaction with the Murugappa Group was especially noteworthy. Group leaders acknowledged their strong existing manufacturing base and workforce in Punjab. Appreciated the State’s transparent governance and responsive facilitation.

Indicated interest in expanding operations, including in the electric mobility domain. Several companies expressed intent to evaluate opportunities in Mohali, Ludhiana and Rajpura, citing Punjab’s strategic location for North India markets and access to NCR. Leaders from Bahwan CyberTek described Mohali as emerging as “the next Gurugram of North India”, especially for Tech-driven digital enterprises. Punjab’s power-surplus advantage was also noted as a key enabler for data centre operations.

Punjab’s Investment Credentials highlighted throughout the outreach, Shri Sanjeev Arora briefed industries on Punjab’s improved business climate, including its recent recognition as a ‘Top Achiever’ in the Ease of Doing Business rankings by the Government of India.

He highlighted that Punjab has attracted ₹1.37 lakh crore in serious, on-ground investments. Nearly five lakh jobs have been created.The Right to Business Act has been strengthened Units in approved industrial parks receive in-principle approval within 5 working days. All other applications outside RTBA are mandatorily resolved within 45 working days through the FastTrack Punjab Portal.

Industry leaders in both cities expressed pleasant surprise at Punjab’s Modern, reliable infrastructure Efficient logistics & peaceful labour environment

Talent availability, High-quality research institutions, Digitised, transparent governance model.

Many acknowledged Punjab as a dependable, competitive alternative to traditional northern industrial hubs.

Following the successful completion of the South India roadshows, Team Invest Punjab has returned to Chandigarh to prepare for the next phase of national and international outreach. The momentum generated is expected to convert into deeper collaborations and a strengthened pipeline of strategic investment interests leading up to the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit 2026.

CHANDIGARH/SAS NAGAR, November 14:

          Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, SAS Nagar district police has busted an interstate fake currency module with the arrest of two individuals from Dera Bassi and seized ₹9.99 crore counterfeit and demonetised currency from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.

          Those arrested have been identified as Sachin, a resident of Bharat Nagar in Kurukshetra, Haryana and Gurdeep, a resident of Gurdev Nagar in Kurukshetra, Haryana.

          The recovery includes ₹11,05,000 in original old currency and ₹9.88 crore in fake currency. Apart from recovering currency, police teams have also impounded their white Scorpio-N (HR-41-M-6974) in which they were travelling.

          DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were using a deception method by placing real notes on top of bundles while hiding fake notes inside to cheat unsuspecting individuals. They are linked to multiple cheating and counterfeit cases across states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, he said.

          The DGP said that technical analysis and further interrogation are underway to identify the full network and identification of more associates involved in this module.

          Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar Harmandeep a tip-off was received about the movement of two individuals linked to an interstate fake currency module, special teams were formed under the supervision of SP Rural Manpreet Singh and DSP Dera Bassi Bikramjit Singh Brar. Acting swiftly, the teams, led by SHO Dera Bassi Sumit Mor and Incharge Anti-Narcotics Cell Malkeet Singh laid a special nakabandi near PWD Rest House, Ghaggar Bridge, Old Ambala–Kalka Highway, and successfully intercepted the duo and recovered the fake and demonetised currency from their possession, he said.

          The SSP further stated that the probe has revealed that arrested accused persons have duped several people in Punjab and neighbouring States and have criminal background with involvement in prior cases of cheating and counterfeit currency. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days as further probe is ongoing, he added.

          In this regard, a case FIR no. 327 dated 13-11-2025 has been registered under sections 318(4), 178, 179, 180 and 182 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Dera Bassi.

BOX: BREAK-UP OF RECOVERED CURRENCY:

Original Currency Recovered

₹7,42,000 old ₹1000 notes

₹3,50,000 old ₹2000 notes

₹13,000 new ₹500 notes

Total: ₹11,05,000

Counterfeit Currency Recovered

80 bundles of old ₹1000 (approx. ₹80 lakh)

60 bundles of new ₹500 (approx. ₹30 lakh)

439 bundles of ₹2000 (approx. ₹8 crore 78 lakh)

Total: ₹9.88 Crores

CHANDIGARH, November 14:

          Continuing the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 258th day, Punjab Police conducted raids at 305 locations on Friday leading to the arrest of 86 drug smugglers after registration of 71 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 36,550 in 258 days.

          The raids have resulted in recovery of 13.7 kg heroin, 1 kg opium, 3.5 kg poppy husk, 211 intoxicant pills and Rs 5.09 lakhs drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

          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.

          Over 100 Police teams, comprising over 800 police personnel, under the supervision of 58 gazetted officers have conducted 305 raids across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 305 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.

          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 32 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Chandigarh, November 14:

Placing the prime focus on inculcating healthy eating habits in the people with the aim to ensure robust health, the theme of ‘Right food is the first medicine’ occupied the centre stage at a seminar on the topic FOOD IS MEDICINE held by the Punjab State Food Commission at MGSIPA in Sector 26 here today.

Driving home the point that it is very significant to ensure that the message of consuming nutritious food is percolated down to the grassroots level, Dr. Vipan Bhargav from Ludhiana revealed that our body has a mechanism of nurturing itself but the only that is needed is to give it right kind amount of ingredients. He also dwelled upon the need to have Nutrition Huts and Nutrition Points at home, school & village panchayat level. “The plant based natural vegetables and the home grown ones contribute greatly towards a healthy lifestyle”, said Dr. Bhargav.

Stressing the importance of Ayurveda, the Chairman of the IRA Chamber of Ayurveda S.K. Batish divulged that 170 countries around the globe have accepted Ayurveda while 23 have made it a part of their health policy. He also advocated the importance of Millet based diet.

Health & Life Coach Harkanwal P. Singh Dhaliwal made a case for the need to know how to detoxify our body and balance the various kinds of foods we consume.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Punjab State Food Commission Bal Mukand Sharma welcomed the Chief Guest the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Food Commission, Shimla Dr. S.P. Katyal who lauded the stellar role being played by the Punjab State Food Commission for the best food practices with regard to ensuring a healthy lifestyle.

Among others, the Punjab State Food Commission Members Vijay Dutt, Chetan Prakash Dhaliwal and Jasvir Singh Sekhon besides former Member Preety Chawla, Member Secretary Kanu Thind & Vice Chairperson IRA Chamber of Ayurveda Kanchan Sharma were also present.

Chandigarh, November 14:

As part of the state-wide commemorative events marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, organised Light and Sound Shows on Friday in Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Barnala. The programmes saw overwhelming participation from the sangat along with Cabinet Ministers, MLAs, Members of Parliament and local leaders.

A spokesperson revealed that at the Light and Sound Show held at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Power, Industries and Commerce Minister Sanjeev Arora and Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian were present. Similarly, at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Kapurthala, Defence Services Welfare Minister Mohinder Bhagat and Rajya Sabha Member Sant Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal joined the sangat in witnessing the show that highlighted the unparalleled sacrifice and profound philosophy of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.

At Barnala’s Baba Kala Mehr Stadium, Lok Sabha Member Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and MLA Kulwant Singh Pandori attended the event along with local leaders and devotees. Meanwhile, in Sri Muktsar Sahib, MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar marked his presence at the Light and Sound Show organised at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium.

The sangat attending these events praised the Punjab Government’s efforts to spread awareness about the life and teachings of the Ninth Guru. The Light and Sound Shows used advanced laser lights and 3D projection technology to depict the complete life journey, philosophy, teachings and supreme martyrdom of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, who sacrificed his life to uphold religious freedom and protect human values.

It is noteworthy that Light and Sound Shows will also be organised in the remaining districts on November 17 and 20.

Chandigarh:

The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, has consistently  been distributing financial relief under Mission Chardi Kala for the rehabilitation of flood and rain-affected people.

Today over Rs. 17 crore were distributed to flood victims at several locations across the state by the Punjab Government.

Under this campaign, Cabinet Minister  Harjot Singh Bains distributed crop compensation worth about Rs. 2 crore 26 lakhs to flood victims of Sri Anandpur Sahib assembly constituency at village Jindwari.

While sharing further details, S. Bains said that today, Rs. 72,12,000 has been distributed to 70 farmers of Sub-Division Sri Anandpur Sahib, Rs. 58,89,000 to 101 farmers of Sub-Division Nangal and Rs. 89,68,000 to 35 farmers belonging to Sub-Division Rupnagar.

Similarly, in Ajnala area of Amritsar, former Cabinet Minister Punjab and MLA  Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal distributed compensation amount of Rs. 5.86 crore to 1330 farmers.

It was the fourth consecutive day of the third phase of the relief distribution process when the state government provided the financial assistance to flood-affected families across the state.

An official spokesperson said that today, the people of flood-affected villages Bhaini Kadar Bakhsh and Pasan Kadim of Sultanpur in the Kapurthala district were handed over the sanction letters of compensation amount of Rs. 40 lakh.

The spokesperson said that apart from this, the sanction letters were also handed over to 380 flood victims at Talwandi Sabo and Maur to distribute under Mission Chardi Kala.

The spokesperson said that Chief Whip Prof. Baljinder Kaur handed over the sanction letters to 80 beneficiaries at Talwandi Sabo.

The spokesperson said that MLA Sukhbir Singh Maisarkhana handed over the sanction letters to 300 people affected by heavy rain or flood-like situation in Maur constituency of Bathinda district.

The spokesperson said that today, MLA Dharamkot  Davinderjit Singh Ladi Dhos also handed over sanction letters of to Rs 5.83 crore to about 1350 beneficiaries.

He said that in Ferozepur Urban assembly constituency, Ranbir Singh Bhullar visited village Kamal Wala (Muthianwala) and Bala Megha and handed over sanction letters amounting to Rs 1 crore 5 lakh to the flood affected families of the villages.

The spokesperson said that Fazilka MLA  Narinderpal Singh Sawna distributed an amount of Rs 1 crore 57 lakh to the farmers at Shah Hithar (Gulaba Bhaini), a flood affected village.

It is noteworthy that Punjab is providing the highest ever compensation to the flood affected families and the state government has also ensured that relief should be given to every affected family in a transparent manner.

The compensation amount for the damage of a house has been increased from Rs 6,500 to Rs 40,000, while farmers were being given Rs 20,000 per acre for crop damage. The state government is providing compensation of Rs 37,500 per milking cattle, Rs 32,000 per non-milking cattle, Rs 20,000 per calf and Rs 100 per poultry bird with the aim of restoring their livelihood.

Chandigarh, 14 November 2025

In its ongoing crackdown on corruption, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) today arrested Rajwant Kaur, Reader to DDPO Jalandhar. She demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000/- from a complainant resident of village Dhadda, district Jalandhar.

Disclosing this a spokesperson of VB said that an enquiry was conducted of a complaint submitted by complainant, Sarpanch of village Dhadda. The enquiry established that the Dharamshala constructed in village Dhadda had been taken into possession by the Balmik Committee, following which the Gram Panchayat filed a case before the DDPO. Jalandhar.

During investigation, it came to light that Rajwant Kaur, who remained posted as Reader to the DDPO Jalandhar during that time, demanded a bribe of Rs. 50,000 from the complainant for securing a favourable order in the Dharamshala case. She received the bribe amount of Rs. 50,000 from the complainant and other witnesses. The act of receiving money was video-recorded.

Based on the enquiry and evidence, a case has been registered under the relevant sections against the accused Rajwant Kaur in Vigilance Bureau Range Police Station Jalandhar and further investigation is underway.