IEP Chandigarh

Cold weather conditions prevailed in most places of Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday as minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches. Parts of south Punjab, south, south-western and north Haryana were enveloped in fog. Ferozepur in Punjab recorded a minimum temperature of 4.4 degrees Celsius, Amritsar 5.3 degrees Celsius and Pathankot 6.4 degrees Celsius according to the meteorological department. Piercing chill prevailed in Gurdaspur, Faridkot and Patiala, which recorded minimum temperatures of 5.5 degrees Celsius, 5.4 degrees Celsius and 7.8 degrees Celsius respectively. Ludhiana’s minimum temperature settled at 9 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, Sirsa reeled under severe chill, recording a low of 5.4 degrees Celsius. Karnal recorded a minimum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius while Hisar registered a low of 7.9 degrees Celsius.

Bhiwani’s minimum temperature settled at 8.7 degrees Celsius while in Ambala it was 9.4 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a low of 9 degrees Celsius. 

IEP Chandigarh

DST-Centre for Policy Research (CPR) at Panjab University, Chandigarh organized a 3-day online training program on “Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) role in DRR policies and strategies” from 30 Jan. 2023 to 01 Feb. 23. The program was organized with the support of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The training program aimed to bring together the domain experts, members of academia and key stakeholders on a common platform for understanding the role of science in enhancing Disaster Resilience by exploring the penetration of STI in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).Various dignitaries from national and international level graced the event and enriched the participants with their thoughts.

Dr. Parminderjit Kaur, Senior Policy Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, IISc, Bangalorehighlighted the STI contribution in DRR. She gave the way forward that Science influences actions and choices, individual as well as collectively. She stressed that together we can create new insights and methods, solve old problems, and establish higher standards and better evidence-based policies.

Dr.Suryesh K Namdeo, consultant from United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs put forward there commendation to develop a national biosecurity strategy and stressed on the need of a dedicated agency for biological emergencies.

Ms. Namrata Sarmah, Museum Professional at State Museum Guwahati highlighted the various case studies where ample contribution has been paid to preserve the artifacts from the ancient Indian history. Around 150 participants took part in the on-line training program, including faculty members, researchers, and students from various institutions from Chandigarh region and PAN India.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday slammed the Union government for presenting an anti-Punjab, anti-people, anti-farmers and directionless union budget.

          “It is shameful that going by its myopic mindset the Union government has completely ignored the state thereby bringing a huge disrespect to countless sacrifices made by the brave and hard working Punjabis in pre and post independent era”, said the Chief Minister in a statement issued here today.

          The Chief Minister said that he is peeved to learn that all the genuine demands of Punjab have been blatantly ignored and state has figured nowhere in the Union budget. He said that after Republic Day, during which state’s tableau was kept out of parade, this is second deliberate attempt of the BJP led centre government to undermine contribution of Punjab. Bhagwant Mann said that he fails to understand why the BJP is meting out such step motherly treatment with Punjab.

          The Chief Minister said that being a border state they had demanded Rs

1000 crore for modernisation of BSF and state Police from centre. He said that this fund necessary to combat the smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border especially through the hi-tech drones. However, Bhagwant Mann said that Union government gave cold shoulder to this demand by not allocating budget for it thereby completely jeopardising security in border state.

          Likewise, the Chief Minister said that during pre-budget meetings they had flagged off necessity to start Vande Mataram trains from Amritsar and Bathinda to Delhi for facilitating the people. But, he said that this demand has been completely ignored along with the idea of connecting all the five Takhts of Sikhs through Rail route. Bhagwant Mann said that this religious circuit would have given boost to tourism in state besides facilitating the commuters.

          The Chief Minister also lamented that the budget has exposed the anti-farmers stance of the Modi government. He said that this is the last budget of incumbent Modi government but despite of fall claims nothing has been done to double the income of the farmers. Bhagwant Mann said that even the government has ran away from giving remunerative MSP on crops to farmers which is very unfortunate.

          The Chief Minister said that they had been pursuing case of Rs 1500 financial assistance by centre to farmers along with matching grant by state for solving the problem of paddy menace. However, he said that nothing has been done in this regard by the Union government. Bhagwant Mann said that though the Union Finance Minister has vaguely announced that new nursing colleges will be opened but for it also no timeline has been fixed.

          The Chief Minister said that though Schedule Tribes have been offered various facilities in budgets but the Schedule Caste and Backward class brethren have been completely ignored. He said that it is totally a scripted paper budget which is both directionless and retrogressive. Bhagwant Mann said that the budget lacks vision for the common man which is very unfortunate.

          The Chief Minister cautioned the Union government to stop playing with fire by ignoring the state on key issues. He said that India cannot be imagined without Punjab and BJP led Union government’s attempt to ignore the contribution of Punjab and Punjabis will not be tolerated. Bhagwant Mann said that Punjab had been sword arm and food bowl of the country and it’s role can never be eliminated by such tantrums.

IEP Chandigarh

Punjab Police, in collaboration with its Community Affairs Division (CAD), has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative, Saanjh-DILASA, to promote peace in society. Aligning with the vision of the Punjab Government’s recent scheme Khushaal Punjab, this initiative has been rolled out under the kind guidance of Sh. Gaurav Yadav, DGP, Punjab. DILASA, which is an acronym for Dispute Intervention & Legal Awareness through Social Alliance, will encourage

complainants to resolve their complaints through mutual understanding. The pilot project of the initiative has been launched in the Moga district. The initiative will strengthen and broaden the scope of the Punjab Police’s Community Policing Programme, Saanjh. Under this initiative, services, including outreaching, counselling, dispute resolution, and legal awareness, will be provided to the citizens.

Amid the growing popularity of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platforms & services in India, Saanjh-DILASA will provide the complainants with an end-to-end ODR Platform annexed to police stations for their justice needs. This ODR Platform has been designed & developed by a homegrown company, Jupitice, headquartered in Chandigarh. The platform has been exclusively customised for Saanjh-DILASA. Under this initiative, if the case filed by the complainant has an element of

settlement, Punjab Police can suggest complainants refer their dispute to the

end-to-end ODR platform annexed to their police station for it. To file their

case or gather more information on Saanjh-DILASA, citizens of Moga can call

the toll-free helpline, 1800-309-8666, or visit www.saanjh.jupitice.com.

Additionally, the beneficiaries can also visit/call their nearest police station in

Moga to learn more about the initiative or get connected to the Saanjh-DILASA

representatives.

Aligning with the concept of Community Mediation, suggested in Clause 44 of

the Mediation Bill, 2021, Saanjh-DILASA provides mediation, with prior

mutual consent of parties, for resolving disputes which are likely to affect

peace amongst the residents or families of any area or locality.

While hailing the initiative, Smt Gurpreet Kaur Deo, IPS, DGP-Community

Affairs Division (CAD), Punjab Police said, “Saanjh-DILASA is a value addition

to Punjab Police’s Saanjh initiative, which will provide a smart way and

conducive environment for resolving disputes and differences among

individuals and organisations. We, at the Community Affairs Division, Punjab, have always been committed to finding solutions for resolving disputes which affect peace, harmony, and tranquillity in society. We would like to thank Jupitice for introducing the concept of ODR and partnering with us to figure out ways on how the police can play a crucial role in the mitigation of disputes.”

From matrimonial cases to labour disputes, Saanjh-DILASA is designed and developed to address a wide range of disputes that people may face in their daily lives. From understanding disputes to helping parties reach a mutual settlement, Saanjh-DILASA will guide the disputing parties throughout their dispute resolution journey on the ODR Platform. Furthermore, the settlement made on Saanjh-DILASA can be court-enforceable via Punjab State Legal Services Authority. Applauding the initiative, SSP Moga, Sh. Gulneet Singh Khurana, IPS, said, “With Saanjh-DILASA, Punjab Police has taken a revolutionary step to

strengthen the police-public partnership by empowering the citizens with the

help of the police. Since Moga will be the first district to introduce Saanjh-

DILASA, the Moga Police will ensure to provide all the citizens with the

necessary awareness. Moga Police would also like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Jupitice for introducing such an advanced technology that will revolutionise the role of police in serving the public”. Speaking on the launch of Saanjh-DILASA, Sh. Raman Aggarwal, Founder & CEO of Jupitice Justice Technologies, said, “The Government of Punjab has taken a reformative initiative in collaboration with Punjab Police to expand access to justice through participatory justice system. This initiative would be instrumental in developing and promoting the community justice system and further using technology to deliver justice to the doorstep of individuals.

Furthermore, the initiative would also enhance access to justice for the

women and other marginalised communities”.

About Saanjh-DILASA

Saanjh-DILASA is a joint initiative by Punjab Police Saanjh and Jupitice to promote peace in society. DILASA is an acronym for Dispute Intervention &Legal Awareness through Social Alliance. The initiative is a reformative step towards encouraging complainants to amicably resolve disputes outside of courts. The presence of the option to settle disputes is crucial for cases to be referred to the end-to-end ODR platform annexed to the police stations upon the consent of the parties involved. The disputing parties will have to pay only Rs 100/- each to file their case with Saanjh-DILASA.

Services Offered at Saanjh-DILASA

● Outreaching & Counselling Services

● Dispute Resolution Services

● Legal Awareness Services

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Punjab NRIs affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has said that a the state Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is bringing a new policy for NRI Punjabi, which would be ready by February 28.

          The Minister also said that the new policy would ensure effective resolutions of the complaints and issues  related to Punjabi diaspora. After having a meeting here today at Punjab Bhavan with DGP Punjab Mr. Gaurav Yadav, Principal Secretary NRI Affairs Mr. J.M. Balamurugan, ADGP NRI Affairs Mr. Praveen Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary Home Mr. Varinder Kumar, Special Secretary NRI Mrs. Kamaljit Kaur Brar and Special Secretary NRI Mr. Paramjit Singh, the Minister said that the initiative of Punjab Government to hold NRI Milnis got massive response with receiving 606 complaints. During these Milnis held at Jalandhar, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana, Moga and Amritsar, the Minister said more than 40 percent complaints i.e. 250 had been sorted out. He said remaining complaints were also being addressed within minimal time.

          On the nature of complaints, the Minister said that most of the complaints were related to the revenue and police department, while 20 percent of the complaints are already under hearing in various courts.

          The Cabinet Minister said that the process of setting up fast track courts has also been initiated for early resolution of cases especially related to Indian migrants. He said that these new special courts will be established at Amritsar, Moga, Ludhiana, SBS Nagar and Patiala. He said that in addition to Special NRIs courts along with appointment of special judge and the staff, another proposal had also been sent to create separate posts for police stations will be sent to the Chief Minister of Punjab. He said that a special NRI court is already in progress at Jalandhar.

          Mr. Dhaliwal said that DGP Gaurav Yadav has assured today that Rs 30 lakh will be released soon to renovate the police stations. He said that the state police chief has also agreed to increase the police force in the police stations, in which 75 police personnel will be posted immediately and 75 personnel by March 2023 in these special police stations.

          Mr. Dhaliwal further said that to solve various problems of migrant Punjabis, DGP Punjab will also write a letter to the police chiefs of all the districts with directions , to resolve the issues of the concerned as soon as possible. He said that all SSPs would make sure to send reports on these issues reports related to the police to the ADGP NRI.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said that the state has set a new record by providing government jobs to 26074 eligible youth purely on basis on merit. Addressing the gathering here at local Municipal Bhawan during a function to hand over appointment letters to 188 Junior Engineers, the Chief Minister said that the state is witnessing a new revolution where the youth are being empowered with government jobs. He said that this is just the beginning and 26074 jobs have been given in ten months of tenure. Bhagwant Mann said that more jobs are in pipeline and this process will continue in the coming days too. The Chief Minister said that merit is the sole criteria of recruitment for the government jobs. He said that complete transparency is being ensured in the recruitment process so that bright youth are employed with the state government. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that his will help in channelising the unbounded energy of youth in positive direction. The Chief Minister said that the state government has taken exemplary decisions in the last ten months of its tenure. He said that while the other parties had made promises to the people during the run up of the polls, they have given guarantee to the masses. Bhagwant Mann said that one by one all these guarantees are being fulfilled. The  Chief Minister said that the state government has fulfilled the guarantee of giving 300 units of free electricity per month from July 1. He said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that 87% of the households in the state have zero electricity bill in the months of November-December, 2022. Bhagwant Mann said that he hails from a common family and knows it well that what are the problems being faced by them. The Chief Minister said that fulfilling another guarantee the state government has opened 500 Aam Aadmi clinics across the state where the online data of every patient visiting these clinics is being maintained. He said that this will help in data compilation for formulation of strategy to combat deadly diseases in the state. Bhagwant Mann said that it will ensure research based diagnose and treatment of the residents of the state in an efficient and foolproof manner. Taking the opposition parties to cudgels, the Chief Minister said that it is shameful that they are even criticising this pro-people initiative. He said that opposition for the sake of opposition is totally unwarranted and undesirable. Bhagwant Mann said that these people are vary of the progress and prosperity of state due to which they are opposing this initiative. However, the Chief Minister said that this will not deter him to work for the growth of the state and he will continue to work hard for welfare of its people. Bhagwant Mann said that he knows how to execute the work for well being of people and no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause. He said that people’s faith is biggest motivation for him to work and he will upheld this trust by all means. The Chief Minister further said that the state government has started school of eminence in the state. He said that these schools will ensure holistic development of the students studying in these government schools. Bhagwant Mann said that development of student will be ensured as per his interest and schools will groom specialists for coming future. The Chief Minister said that successive governments in the state have plundered the wealth of Punjab. He said that his government is duty bound to put the perpetrators of this heinous crime behind the bars. Bhagwant Mann said that no stone will be left unturned for to punish these culprits of the state who have looted the money from state exchequer. The Chief Minister said that due to massive efforts of Punjab government, entrepreneurs are showing enthusiasm for investment in the state. He said that till yet investment worth Rs. 27,000 Crore has been firmed up in Punjab thereby creating lakhs of more jobs for youth. Bhagwant Mann also announced that in a landmark decision the state government has decided to deliver the old age pension to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps. Earlier, PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO welcomed the Chief Minister and other dignitaries

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

The delegation of 63rd course of National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi led by college secretary Brigadier AK Pundir paid  a courtesy call on Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua on Monday at Chandigarh.

The delegation is on study tour of the state of Punjab. The delegation interacted with Chief Secretary on various facets of the state.

The delegation comprised of Senior Officers of the different ranks representing Indian Defence Forces, IPS and Military Officers from other Foreign countries including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia and Nigeria. On this occasion Brigadier AK Pundir also felicitated the Chief Secretary.

The delegation was accompanied by Director Defence Services Punjab Brigadier (Retd) Satinder Singh and Director Sports Amit Talwar.

The NDC is a prestigious and world renowned International training institute functioning under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Following the directions of Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema to ensure zero tolerance against tax evasion, the GST wing of the Taxation Department, Punjab on Monday arrested 4 persons for GST fraud of Rs. 48 Crore from Jalandhar, in a major operation against tax evaders. The suspects allegedly were running fake firms related to the iron scrap and had obtained GST registrations only to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently by issuing only invoices without the supply of actual goods.

          Revealing this in a press communiqué issued here, the official spokesperson of the Taxation department said that Pankaj Kumar alias Pankaj Anand for allegedly running firms named M/s PK Trading Co. M/s Gagan Trading Co., M/s Krrish Trading Co., M/s Balaji Trading Co., M/s Krrish Enterprises and M/s Pankaj Scrap Company, Ravinder Singh for allegedly running M/s Guru HarRai Trading Co., Gurvinder Singh for allegedly running M/s Shiv Shakti Enterprises, and Amirtpal Singh for allegedly running M/s North Vogue were arrested and were produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial custody. . He said that all the four accused are the residents of Jalandhar.

          Disclosing further, the spokesperson said that an initial investigation was conducted by the authorities on M/s PV Interior Decor, Jalandhar, which further led to the investigation of M/s Dasmesh Trading Co., Jalandhar, M/s Gur Har Rai Trading Co., Jalandhar, Krrish Trading Co., Jalandhar, M/s Shiv Shakti Enterprise, Jalandhar, M/s Balaji Trading Co., M/s Pankaj Scrap Co., Jalandhar, Gagan Trading Co. and M/s North Vogue Co., Jalandhar. “All these firms were involved in a nexus of fake non-functioning firms, which availed, utilized and passed the fraudulent ITC to actual beneficiaries”, he added.

          The spokesperson further added that these persons were only showing circular trading of iron and plastic scrap and in lieu of that they were issuing fake invoices and generating fake e-way bills on scooters, motorcycles, cars, vans, tractors and on fake vehicles having no records. He said that by creating bogus ITC, these persons were passing on the same bogus ITC to the other than end taxpayers who adjusted their tax payment liabilities with this bogus ITC rather than paying the same from their own and thus defrauding the state exchequer.

          The spokesperson said that this operation was held under the directions of Vikas Partap, Fianace Commissioner (Taxation) and Kamal Kishor Yadav, Commissioner Taxation, and was supervised by Ravneet Khurana, Additional Commissioner State Tax (Audit), and Viraj S. Tidke, Additional Commissioner State Tax-1(Investigation).

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Mr. Aman Arora on Monday handed over appointment letters to 19 Junior Engineers (Civil) at PUDA Bhawan, SAS Nagar (Mohali).

          While congratulating the newly recruited officials, he said that Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has been making concerted efforts to provide employment opportunities to the youth of the state and over 26000 jobs in the government sector have been provided in just it’s 10 month regime.

          Mr Aman Arora implored JEs to work diligently and with full honesty, adding that transparent and corruption-free governance is the single point agenda of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led state government. He wished them all the best for future.

          Highlighting the decision taken for welfare of government employees, the H&UD Minister said that the state government has constituted a five member committee headed by Chief Secretary to formulate the standard operating procedure (SOP) for implementing the old pension scheme (OPS) as Mann government is fully committed for welfare of employees.

          Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Mr Ajoy Kumar Sinha and Chief Administrator PUDA Ms Apneet Riyait were also present on the occasion.

IEP Chandigarh

A delegation of National Defence College(NDC), Ministry of Defence, GoI on a socio-political study tour to the State of Punjab, met Shri BanwarilalPurohit, Governor of Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, here today at Punjab Raj Bhavan.

The delegation was extended a warm welcome at Punjab Raj Bhavan. The Governor appreciated NDC’s rich tradition of training senior professionals from military and civil service background in the fields of strategic security.

He said that success of any nation depends on how effectively it can harness resources available at its disposal, foremost among which is human resource. The NDC, where senior officers from armed forces and from civil services are imparted knowledge, performs the task of development of human resources effectively. Their skills are honed to elevate them to effectively deal with national security issues.

The Governor said that the aim of the NDC course to teach “strategic, economic, scientific, political and industrial aspects of national defence” is extremely relevant.

Motivating the delegates, the Governor said that we are celebrating 75 years of Indian independence and have entered ‘AmritKaal’ of the centenary of our independence, which is a crucial phase for all of us. It is time to come together and build a nation which can be hailed as one of the developed nations of the world. For this, we need the efforts of officers like you to take all positive steps in this direction. I am sure the knowledge and understanding which you have gathered from the NDC will help you in this pursuit.

Wishing the delegates all the best, the Governor said that ‘I hope that you all will bring greater laurels to the National DefenceCollege and your country as seasoned professionals in your domains of expertise’.