Chandigarh:

The single theme workshop on “Neonatal Neurological Disorders” got off to a flying start in the auditorium of the Advanced Paediatric Centre, PGIMER. The honourable director of PGIMER, Prof Vivek Lal, inaugurated the workshop. Prof ON Bhakoo, former head of Pediatrics and Neonatology at PGIMER, also graced the inaugural function. Prof Vivek Lal — himself an accomplished adult neurologist — complimented the Neonatology Unit on conducting a workshop on a very challenging topic. He narrated several interesting anecdotes from his own training days to highlight the importance of combining sound clinical knowledge with modern investigations. Prof Praveen Kumar, Head of the Department of Pediatrics and chairperson of the workshop, spoke about the importance of focused workshops of this nature and said that these workshops were extremely popular among delegates because of their hands-on nature. Prof Sourabh Dutta, the organising secretary, mentioned that this was the 10th single theme workshop conducted and each time the delegates played a role in choosing the theme for the next workshop. Dr Jogender Kumar, the joint organising secretary, thanked the entire team in his vote of thanks.

​The scientific proof proceedings of the workshop started with a talk on normal neurological examination by Dr Supreet Khurana, in which she showed many videos of newborn babies to demonstrate the correct techniques. Dr Naveen Jain, an expert from Trivandrum, spoke about the approach to a newborn baby who presents with brain dysfunction. Prof Sourabh Dutta delivered a talk on the pitfalls in the diagnosis and treatment of meningitis and its complications in newborn babies. Prof Deepak Chawla spoke about the diagnosis and staging of brain damage due to asphyxia at the time of birth and how to treat selected patients with whole-body cooling or brain cooling. Dr Naveen Prakash Gupta from Delhi delivered a lecture on bleeding inside the brain of preterm babies or damage to the white matter in the brain. Dr Chirag Ahuja taught the delegates about how to read MRI scans and CT scans of both mature and premature babies.

​The highlight of the first day of the workshop were three practical hands-on sessions through which the delegates rotated by turn. They were shown how to actually administer whole-body cooling, to perform head ultrasound in newborn babies to rapidly diagnose problems, and to interpret EEG (brain electrical waves) in neonates.

​The practical workstations were followed by group discussions on three real-life case scenarios which involved newborn babies who had brain problems of various kinds. Delegate to s got a chance to interact one-on-one with experts in the field. The real-life case scenarios included clinical data, laboratory results and ultrasound and MRI images wherever applicable.

Chandigarh:

The two-day single theme workshop on “Neonatal Neurological Disorders” concluded today at the Advanced Paediatric Centre, PGIMER.

The morning session had three fascinating lectures delivered by the respective experts in the field. Dr Jogender Kumar, the joint organising secretary, spoke about the diagnosis and treatment of seizures (fits) in newborns. He emphasised that recent research had clearly shown that the vast majority of abnormal movements in newborns that are thought to be fits both by laypersons and even by experts are actually not fits, and on the converse, a large number of fits that are picked up on EEG studies of brain waves do not manifest as externally visible fits but they still damage the brain. He said that every paediatric facility that takes care of sick newborn babies must have continuous EEG monitoring facilities otherwise they will either overdiagnosis or underdiagnose fits. Prof Naveen Sankhyan spoke about the potentially devastating effects of low blood glucose levels in the early newborn period. He said that a sizeable proportion of children who present with very difficult to treat epilepsy have a history of low blood glucose in early life.

Dr Naveen Jain, an expert on long-term neurodevelopment, spoke about the need to have a structured follow-up program for high-risk newborn babies. He said that every follow-up visit must have a specific purpose and a plan of action which must be clearly conveyed to the parents.
In the prelunch session, Dr Bharti Sharma from the Department of Gynecology in PGI spoke about various protective strategies that Gynecologists can use during pregnancy to try and protect the brain of the newborn infant.

Two important interventions are the use of injection magnesium sulphate and injection steroids in threatened preterm delivery. Dr Sajan Saini spoke about the complex problem of hydrocephalus (excess water accumulating inside the brain) that sometimes folows bleeding inside the brain of preterm babies. He presented the currently accepted international guidelines for treating such patients. Dr Bijaylaxmi Behera spoke about the problem of brain strokes in newborn babies, their causes, modalities of diagnosis and treatment options. She said that some of these infants require low-dose heparin and occasionally aspirin to take care of the clots.

After lunch, the delegates participated in in-depth group discussions on three real-life case scenarios which involved newborn babies who had brain problems of various kinds.

Delegates got a chance to interact one-on-one with experts in the field. The real-life case scenarios included clinical data, laboratory results and ultrasound and MRI images wherever applicable. The cases included a preterm baby who had complications after brain bleeds, a mature baby who had brain damage due to very high jaundice, and a mature baby who failed to breathe the time of birth and went on to develop brain damage and fits.
In the feedback session, the delegates unanimously expressed great satisfaction with the format of single theme workshops in which a single topic is discussed in great depth over two days and in which there is ample scope for focused group discussions, time for interaction with experts, and hands-on workstations for improving practical skills.

Chandigarh, April 4, 2026: A two – day National CMA (Cost and Management Accountants) Practitioners Convention-2026 took off at Hotel Shivalikview, Sector 17, Chandigarh. Punjab Finance Minister, Shri Harpal Singh Cheema, inaugurated the same. In the Convention more than 200 CMAs from different parts of the country were present.

CMA Manoj Kumar Anand, Chairman Professional Development Committee welcomed to the Chief Guest and delegates to the convention and narrated the objective of the convention,

During the inaugural session, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Punjab addressed the audience and affirmed that Punjab Govt. is committed to good health of its people, education and  for the sustainable growth of the state. He appraised the participants that how Punjab doubled its GST collections, Excise Revenue and increase in non-tax revenue. He also mentioned that Punjab Government by using updated IT software’s obtained from IIT Hyderabad has plugged the evasion of revenue to extent. He said Punjab is in first three states to enforce measures to curb the evasion of GST. He pointed out that agencies are working on eight to ten Apps to check if there is any evasion of tax / leakage of tax revenue if any.  He further mentioned that the initiative taken by their Govt. in form of School of eminence has led numerous students qualifying in JEE and NEET exams and getting being admitted to the various professional courses across the country.

He also appraised the participants that in FDI, ranking of the Punjab has strengthened from 15^th to 11^th place in their tenure. He repeated it again that we will make Punjab as ‘Rangla Punjab’ once again. He thanked the institute and its office bearer for inviting him to the occasion.

CMA TCS Srinivasa Prasad, President of the Institute also addressed the gathering and appraised the Chief Guest how CMA profession through AI, Data Analytics tools and complex data sets, evidence based decision making can help the Punjab for sustainable growth of the Punjab. He assured the minister every possible professional support for the growth of the Punjab and bringing the Industry to invest in Punjab through National Network and liaisoning with Industry.

On the occasion, CMA Neeraj Dhananjay Joshi Vice President of the Institute appraised the Minster how CMA Profession can help Govt. to cut down budgets for various projects, cost in transportation section along with health and education. He also talked about cost reduction initiatives of the institute for Khadi Gram Udyog.

CMA Anil Sharma a Practicing Cost Accountant  also mentioned that CMA Profession can be instrumental to liaising with the industry and the government to invest in Punjab. He also talked about inviting CMA representatives to Punjab Invest Summits. He said CMA is a techno-commercial profession and know about every activity of industry.

At the end Secretary of the Institute Dr Nandy presented the formal vote of thanks.

Chandigarh, April 2, 2026:

Chairman of the Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board, Mr. Gagandeep Singh Kaku Ahluwalia, today reviewed the achievements and progress of various schemes of the Board for the financial year 2025-26 at the Board’s office in Chandigarh.

While sharing details about the progress under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Mr. Ahluwalia said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Khadi and Village Industries sector has achieved significant milestones during the financial year 2025-26.

He stated that the Board’s schemes have not only strengthened the rural economy but also provided self-employment opportunities to unemployed youth across the state.

Providing further details, he informed that during the financial year 2025-26, the Board facilitated the establishment of 457 units under the PMEGP scheme, generating employment opportunities for 5,027 youth. A subsidy amounting to ₹32 crore 77 lakh 85 thousand was also provided to beneficiaries of these units.

Out of these, around 100 units were established with project costs ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh, 204 units were set up with project costs between ₹10 lakh to ₹24 lakh, and 153 units were established with investments ranging from ₹25 lakh to ₹1 crore.

The Chairman directed officials to make concerted efforts to achieve the targets set for the financial year 2026-27 and ensure effective implementation of all Board schemes. He emphasized that the outreach of these schemes must be expanded to every district and village so that maximum unemployed youth can benefit from self-employment opportunities.

On the occasion, Member Secretary Mr. Ramandeep Singh, along with Officials and Senior Consultants were present.

SANGRUR, 2 April 2026:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday firmly held the Centre accountable for the attack outside the BJP office in Chandigarh, asserting that a Union Territory under central control cannot become a convenient ground for political blame-shifting. Making it clear that responsibility lies squarely with the Union Government, he stated that if attempts are being made to pin the incident on him, then the Centre should hand over Chandigarh to the Punjab Government instead of evading its own duty.

At the same time, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann drew a sharp contrast between governance models, highlighting how the AAP government is reducing the financial burden on people while the Congress-led government in Himachal Pradesh is imposing unjust entry taxes on the public, calling the move anti-people and vowing strong opposition at every level.

Reaffirming his government’s commitment to farmers, the Chief Minister underscored that Punjab will continue to strongly take up the demands of Aarthiyas with the Union Government, ensuring seamless procurement and standing firmly with the farming community.

Speaking to media on the sidelines of dedicating a Community Health Center at village Cheema, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Though Chandigarh is administered by the Governor of Punjab, for everything that happens in the Union Territory right from farmers agitation, agitation in Panjab University (PU) or others, the BJP loves to blame me.”

The Chief Minister asserted, “The BJP should refrain from baseless and irrelevant statements on this issue as the area is under the jurisdiction of the Administrator of Union Territory. If Punjab demands Chandigarh it is being labelled as separatist but on the other hand the centre runs away from its duty to maintain law and order there.”

Opposing the Congress-led Himachal government’s decision to impose an entry tax, he said, “On one hand the AAP government is abolishing the tool tax and giving reprieve to the common man whereas on the other hand these people are levying undue taxes on people. This move is totally unwarranted and undesirable and will not be tolerated at any cost and will be opposed both tooth and nail.”

On farmers’ concerns, the Chief Minister stated, “I will flag the genuine demands of the Aarthiyas with the Union government as all their demands pertain to the Government of India (GOI). These issues have been repeatedly raised with the centre and will again be put up before the Union government. The AAP government is firmly committed to ensure smooth and hassle free procurement for benefitting the farmers.”