IEP Chandigarh, January 25

          The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is fully committed to safeguarding the interests of employees. As part of this, the Government would not compromise on the safety of the employees serving in the department. These views were expressed by the Forest and Wildlife Preservation Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak at the Forest Complex in Sector 68 while presiding over a meeting of Punjab Non – Gazetted Forest Officers Association.

          Showing utmost seriousness over the issue of the employees especially the Forest Guards, the Minister emphasized that patrolling in groups at night should be preferred at the range level. He also said that the anti social elements causing harm to the property of the Forest Department, must be strictly proceeded against.

          Exhorting the field employees of the department to wear uniforms on duty, Mr. Kataruchak said that this would not only accord them a distinct identity but also prove beneficial from the security point of view. The Minister directed the officers of the department to consider the proposal to institute an award besides conferring a Medal on the employees who have been victims of attacks by unruly elements. This would go a long way in boosting the morale of such employees, said the Minister.

          On the various demands put forward by the Union such as changing the name of the post of Forest Guard to the Forest Beat Officer/Beat Incharge, separate transfer policy, giving conveyance allowance, speeding up the process of promotion and filling up the 74 posts of Forest Rangers, the Minister assured to give sympathetic consideration.

          Among others present on the occasion included the PCCF R.K. Mishra and the APCCF (Admn) Dharminder Sharma.

IEP Chandigarh, January 25

The Punjab Government has issued notification to give motor vehicle tax rebate on purchase of new vehicle by the owner of scrapped vehicle.Disclosing this here today, Transport Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that in consonance to the Scrapping Policy introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, regarding registration of new vehicles, the Punjab Cabinet has decided to give Motor Vehicle Tax rebate of up to 15% to the Transport Vehicle Owners and 25% to Non-Transport Vehicle Owners in Motor Vehicle Tax under Section-13 (3) of the Punjab Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1924.He said, as per this environment friendly decision, the owners of transport vehicles can take advantage of this scheme up to 8 years from the registration of their vehicles and owners of non-transport vehicles up to 15 years from the registration of their vehicles. When the vehicle is scrapped by the vehicle owner, the vehicle will be purchased by the scrapper who will issue a “Certificate of Deposit” to the vehicle owner, which will be deposited with the concerned Licensing Authority and the owner of the vehicle will get the due exemption on Motor tax.He said, scrapping of the transport vehicle up to 8 years after registration is optional

IEP Chandigarh

State Bank of India, Punjab Engineering College and ICICI Bank jointly organized a function to launch the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issued by the Reserve Bank of India on 25th January, 2023 in the PEC auditorium from 3pm to 5pm. The event was conducted by Mr. Anuj Ranjan, General Manager, RBI, Mrs. Varsha Bajpai, General Manager(HR), RBI,  Mr. Vinod Jaiswal, Chief General Manager, SBI and Mr. Jasminder Chahal, Tricity and Punjab Head, ICICI Bank.Mr. Vinod Jaiswal CGM SBI welcomed the students, staff and faculty members for attending the CBDC outreach program . He expressed his joy for having the opportunity to be a part of the pilot project and talked about the 300+ merchants who have been enrolled by SBI to be a part of the retail pilot project in the region . Mr. Jasminder Chahal from ICICI Bank expressed his pleasure to be a driving force in India’s digitalization as an economy. He also expressed his belief in the role of digital currency in enhancing the financial inclusivity of the nation.The event focused on describing the advantages of the digital currency touching on various related issues such as the trust, safety, liquidity, settlement finality and integrity of the CBDC. The officials also explained the various reasons behind the issuance of CBDC. The major ones included cost reduction of issuance of money and transactions, convertibility of CBDC from and to commercial bank money and cash etc. Mr. Anuj Ranjan, GM, RBI concluded the event answering various different questions asked by the audience.The session saw interactive participation and was a huge success as it enlightened the students and faculty members attending the event about CBDC as an emerging technology in all segments of markets across India.

IEP Chandigarh January 24

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), on Tuesday arrested Mahesh Bansal, estate officer (Coordination), GMADA, Mohali in connection with case FIR No. 03, dated 17.01.2023 registered under sections 13 (1) (a) and 13(2) of prevention of corruption act and 409, 420, 120-B of IPC at VB police station Flying Squad, Punjab at Mohali.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson said the above-mentioned case has been registered against the afore-mentioned Mahesh Bansal, Sunehra Singh, resident of Sonepat, Haryana, Dr. Parminderjeet Singh, Daljit Singh, Senior Assistant and Gurdeep Singh, Record Keeper on the complaint of Umesh Goyal, resident of Sector 80, SAS Nagar.

He further added that upon verification of the above-said complaint, it had came to light that a residential plot measuring 500 sq. yards at Mohali was allotted by GMADA in the name of Sunehra Singh in 2016. After this Sunehra Singh first made an agreement of sale for this plot with complainant Umesh Goyal on 29.05.2017, but before completion of this purchase/sale process, the allottee got the plot transferred in the name of Dr. Praminderjit Singh and others. The Complainant filed two applications with Estate Officer (EO), GMADA regarding non-transfer of the said plot to any party, but accused Mahesh Bansal, EO, GMADA, without giving any chance of hearing to complainant Umesh Goyal, in collusion with Praminderjit Singh and others, transferred the said plot in Parminderjit’s name and misappropriated/destroyed the related file from the office.

The spokesperson further added that  accused Mahesh Bansal EO, GMADA has been arrested, efforts are being made to arrest rest of the accused in this case. Further investigation in this case were under progress, he said.

IEP Chandigarh/Nangal, January 24

Fulfillment the long-pending demand of the people, Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains today flagged off Volvo bus service from Nangal to IGI Airport Delhi. Now, the people of Kandhi area will be able to travel to IGI Airport Delhi with just Rs.1130.

After starting government Volvo bus service, Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar asserted that the monopoly of private companies has ended with the launch of the government Volvo bus service from Punjab to Delhi International Airport, adding that despite the fare drop by these private companies, which were charging between Rs.3000 to Rs.3500 arbitrarily, still people are preferring government Volvo bus service thus enabling the public bus service making profit.

Transport Minister said, inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the month of June last year, the Punjabis living abroad have been greatly benefitted by this Volvo bus service. “So far more than 80,000 passengers have travelled in these buses from different cities of the state, and this statistics proves the success of bus service”, said the Transport Minister saying that keeping this in mind, the Punjab government is continuously increasing the number of buses.

The Transport Minister also announced that a shopping complex at Nangal Bus Stand will be constructed soon.

Education Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains while expressing gratitude towards Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar for starting Volvo bus service for the people of Sri Anandpur Sahib Constituency, said that since most of the people of this area are in Arab countries, and they had to hire vehicles at exorbitant rates to reach to the airport, so this bus service will be very beneficial for the people of the area.

TRAVEL TO DELHI AIRPORT WITH JUST RS.1130

The Transport Minister informed that people will be able to travel in Volvo bus from Nangal city to Terminal-3 of Delhi International Airport with just Rs.1130. The bus will depart daily from Nangal Bus Stand at 1:30 PM, and to reach Sri Anandpur Sahib at 1.50 PM and Rupnagar at 2.50 PM while the bus will depart from Sector-17 Chandigarh for Delhi Airport at 4.35 PM. The bus will leave from the Public Transport Center of the airport at 11:40 PM and it will leave ISBT Delhi at 12:50 pm for Nangal.

He said that the fare from Nangal to Delhi Airport (Terminal-3) will cost Rs.1130, from Sri Anandpur Sahib Rs.1085 and from Rupnagar Rs.970, while the fare from Chandigarh to Delhi Airport will be Rs.820.

KICK STARTS CLEANLINESS DRIVE FROM NANGAL BUS STAND

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains launched the cleanliness drive from Nangal Bus Stand Nangal and urged the people to keep their surroundings clean as their homes.

Both the Cabinet Ministers also inspected the vacant shed near the Nangal bus stand and asked the officials to prepare a plan for the development of the bus stand. On the problems raised by the Education Ministerm, Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar assured that the issues related to the transport department will be resolved at the earliest.

On this occasion, Director Transport Amandeep Kaur, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Preeti Yadav, SSP Vivek Sheel Soni, SDM Manisha Rana, Deputy Director Parneet Singh Minhas, General Manager Paramveer Singh and Gursevak Singh Rajpal and other senior officers were present.

IEP Chandigarh, January 24

The Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to resolve the problems of the people of the state. This was expressed by the Punjab Rural Development Panchayat, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and NRI Affairs Minister today at Vikas Bhawan, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), during the weekly ‘Janta Darbar’ held to listen to the complaints of the people.

Mr. Dhaliwal directed the officials of headquarters and districts concerned to resolve the complaints of the people quickly and said that it is being ensured that the complaints and problems are resolved without any delay.

Mr. Dhaliwal said that more than 120 cases have been heard today and instructions have been given to the concerned officials over the phone. He also encouraged the employees and officials related to their departments to work diligently and honestly in public interest.

Mr. Dhaliwal further said that the state government has been involving the residents as active partners in the all around development of Punjab apart from solving their issues. He said that soon a campaign will also be started again to remove illegal encroachments from Panchayat lands based on the complaints of the people. He said that during the first campaign, more than 10 thousand acres of panchayat land has been freed from illegal occupation.

IEP Chandigarh, 24 January

Under the aegis of CM Bhagwant Mann,Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Minister Defence Services Welfare Punjab visited Directorate of Defence Services Welfare Punjab at Chandigarh. After introduction and the welcome address by Principal Secretary, Defence Services Welfare, Punjab, he was briefed about the functioning of Directorate of Defence Services Welfare by Brig Satinder Singh (Retd.). He highly appreciated the efforts being made by the Directorate of Defence Services for the welfare of Ex-servicemen fraternity of Punjab.

Jauramajra also discussed the problems being faced by the Department in its functioning. He directed that earnest efforts be made to fill up the vacant posts of District Defence Services Welfare officers and other staff on priority. He stressed that more pre-recruitment centers be opened in border areas of Punjab so as to wean the youth away from drugs.

He also emphasized that awareness about Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum is low among the people. He directed that steps be taken through various measures to increase awareness and footfall of everyday visitors to the museum. He assured that Govt. of Punjab will take up the issue of signing of MoA of present Sainik School at kapurthala and opening of new Sainik School at highest level with Central Govt.

The Minister also appreciated the work being done by PESCO as a welfare organization for ESM. He assured PESCO for more vacancies for ESM in Govt Institutes. He directed PESCO to plan additional PVTIs and to shift PVTI Mohali to Sector 82 to reduce burden of rented accommodation. He directed that case be taken up with concerned authorities to reduce the pay parity between Punjab and Chandigarh DC rates.

IEP Chandigarh, January 24

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the State, as directed by the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, nabbed a junior engineer (JE) Manjit Singh red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 2000.

          Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said the accused JE Manjit Singh, posted at PSPCL sub-station Sarna, Pathankot district has been arrested on the complaint of Rajiv Singh, resident of village Jamalpur, Pathankot district.

Giving details he informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the above said JE was demanding a bribe of Rs. 2,000 in lieu of shifting electricity wires running over his agricultural fields.

          The spokesperson said after verifying this complaint, a VB team laid a trap and the accused JE was caught red handed while taking a bribe money of Rs. 2,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

          He informed that a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB police station, Amritsar and further investigation was under progress.

IEP Chandigarh, January 24

Punjab Science and Technology Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday lauded the efforts of Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) for launching Country’s first-of-its-kind State level Science, Technology Innovation (STI) Data Portal. The Data Portal was developed by PSCST with the support of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

Meet Hayer said that the Bhagwant Mann led state government is fully committed to encourage the usage of novel technological initiatives in the core sector of Science and Technology to boost research. He further said that the Portal provides end-to-end holistic information regarding STI Ecosystem of the State on a single platform. The Portal also provides access to information on the vast resources existing in the State in terms of infrastructure, facilities, equipment, research expertise, incubation & acceleration spaces, technologies available with various institutions/organizations etc. which could be used by students, innovators and industry within and outside the State.

The portal was launched by Dr. Debapriya Dutta, Adviser, Department of Science, Technology & Environment, Government of India virtually during State Science and Technology Councils’ Conclave in India International Science Festival, organized by GoI.

Dr. Dutta applauded the efforts of PSCST for making Punjab the first State to develop the Portal. He informed that PSCST has emerged as a Model S&T Council and hence was entrusted with the responsibility to develop the State STI Data framework as well as the Portal. He further shared that it will now be emulated by other states in the country.

Dr. Jatinder Kaur Arora, Executive Director, PSCST made a brief presentation about key features of Data Portal. She informed that the initiative was taken up with the foresight to map and strengthen STI Ecosystem of Punjab.  The Model STI Data Architecture Framework has been developed to provide information on about 50 STI indicators, for which, all relevant stakeholders from the state viz. Research Institutions, Scientific Organizations, Universities, Development Departments etc. have been taken on board.

Dr. Rashmi Sharma, Scientist F, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India shared that the DST, GoI envisions to strengthen this initiative by supporting setting up STI Data Centres in Punjab as well as in few other States which will be taking lead in emulating the model developed by Punjab.

Dr. Dapinder Bakshi, Joint Director, PSCST informed that the Portal has been developed in collaboration with Centre for Technology, Innovation and Economic Research, Pune and CDAC Mohali.

The Launch Event was attended physically/virtually by heads of various Universities and Institutions from the State as well as those of Science and Technology Councils across the country.

IEP Mumbai/ Chandigarh, January 24-

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday visited the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and showcased the state as the most preferred investment destination across the country.

The Chief Minister, while interacting with the media persons after performing the Bell Ringing ceremony here at the BSE, showcased Punjab as a land of opportunities and invited the companies to invest in the state. He said that entrepreneurs will be immensely benefited by investing in the state, which is rapidly emerging as the industrial hub of the country. Bhagwant Mann said that Punjab has complete communal harmony, peace and amity, which are mainly responsible for overall development and prosperity in the state.

The Chief Minister urged the industrialists to make optimum use of this congenial atmosphere backed by excellent infrastructure, power, skilled human resources and best industrial and work culture to spread their business. Extending a red carpet welcome to the industrialists, he said that the state government was always open for new ideas and innovations to boost up the industrial growth in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann said that the day is not far away when Punjab will emerge as the industrial hub of the country.

Inviting the captains of industry to visit the state in the Invest Punjab Summit slated to be held next month at SAS Nagar, the Chief Minister said that the Invest Punjab Summit being organized on February 23-24 will prove to be a milestone in giving a major fillip to industrial growth of the state. He said that the state government has already finalized the arrangements for this mega event. Bhagwant Mann said that the main motive behind giving fillip to industrialization in the state is to reverse the trend of brain drain in the state by opening new vistas of employment for the youth.

On the occasion Chief Executive Officer of the BSE Sundararaman R felicitated the Chief Minister.