IEP Chandigarh, November 15     

     Advancing on the path paved by the freedom fighters and martyrs, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government has decided to named the government schools after the great martyrs and freedom fighters, informed School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains. He reiterated that more than 80 percent of the Punjabis have sacrificed their lives selflessly in the Indian freedom struggle besides maintaining unity and integrity of the country and guarding the borders.          S. Bains said that on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the India’s independence, the Punjab government has decided to rename the government schools after the name of the martyrs and freedom fighters so that future generations get to know about their sacrifices for the country.          The village panchayat and the school management committee have been asked to pass the resolution for the schools, which are to be named after the martyrs/freedom fighters, and send the same to the state headquarters within next month through school principal along with the biographical notes about the martyrs/freedom fighters and the medals bestowed upon by the government regarding the martyrdom of the freedom fighters and martyrs, said the Cabinet Minister, adding that he will personally monitor the whole process and evaluate after 15 days.

IEP Chandigarh, November 15

 The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is sparing no effort and stands committed to ensure welfare and lifting living standard of every section of society. As part of this, there would be no compromise on the vital issues of timely payment of wages to workers besides eradicating corruption. These views were expressed here today at Forest Complex, Sector 68, Mohali by the Forest and Wildlife Preservation Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak during a meeting with the Janglat Workers Union. The Minister directed the departmental officers to prepare the seniority list strictly keeping in mind the transparency factor apart from assuring that adequate action would be undertaken as soon as possible with regard to the stalled salaries under various schemes. He directed that the salaries must be paid on time in future besides giving assurance of sympathetic consideration and positive action regarding the demand for arrears of minimum wages. As regards the issue of considering those having 5 years experience as skilled, 3 years as semi skilled and less than 3 years as unskilled, the Minister said that the proposal would soon be sent to the Labour Department. Similarly, the matter of exempting workers with over 50 years of age from typing test for promotion would be taken up with the concerned department. Exhorting the union members to step forward for saving the environment, Mr. Kataruchak emphasized proper upkeep of the saplings so as to make Punjab clean and green. It is as part of this that the Phagwara-Chandigarh road would be beautified. He further ordered the officers to promptly initiate the process for implementing the above mentioned decisions.  On the occasion, the union lauded the decision of the State Government to restore Old Pension Scheme. The PCCF Mr. R.K. Mishra and other officers of the department were also present. 

IEP Chandigarh, November 15

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday handed over appointment letters to two Investigators in the Economic and Statistical organization on compassionate grounds.          Handing over the appointment letters in his office here at Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Finance Minister exhorted the newly inducted employees to work diligently and honestly. Finance Minister also encouraged them to further improve their educational qualification through distance education. He said that it would not only help them in gaining promotions but the department would also benefit from their services with the increase in their competence.          On this occasion, the Finance Minister asked the heads of government departments to prioritise the appointments on the basis of compassionate grounds to ensure that families of deceased employees can get help in their hour of need.

IEP Chandigarh, November 11

 The Punjab government has issued a notification regarding the increased rate of sugarcane. In a statement issued here today, the Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that during the financial year 2022-23, the Fair and Demonstrative Price (F.R. P) and the difference between State Agreed Price (SAP) value between Punjab Government and private sugar mills is fixed at a 2:1 ratio.          It is worth mentioning that the price of all types of sugarcane was fixed by the central government at Rs. 305 per quintal. The government led by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, increased the price of advanced quality sugarcane at Rs. 380 per quintal, medium quality Rs 370 and late quality Rs.365 per quintal.          The Agriculture Minister further informed that the state government’s share of Rs 50 per quintal will be directly deposited in the accounts of sugarcane farmers and all sugar mills will start crushing sugarcane from 20 November 2022.

IEP Chandigarh, November 11

As part of the ongoing efforts to take education at par of the International level under the able guidance of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann, Punjab School Education Department has constituted an International Education Affairs Cell (IEAC), said Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains here on Friday.The eight-member Cell constituted under the chairmanship of Director SCERT, Punjab comprises Assistant Director (Survey Data Processing) as Member Secretary and State Coordinator (SDP & NAS), SCERT Punjab as Member Coordinator, while,  Assistant Director (Academic, Quality and Training), SCERT Punjab, Officer or Finance Branch Incharge, SCERT Punjab, one DIET Principal and two DEO SE are members. The reporting officer of the IEAC will be the Principal Secretary/Secretary, School Education Punjab through Director General of School Education Punjab.          Education Minister S. Harjot Bains said that the main objective of formation of IEAC was to prepare/examine proposal for Professional Development of teachers, school heads and educational administrators working at different levels in the Department of School Education through Indian and Foreign Organizations Institutions and to identify candidates for that purpose in an objective and transparent manner.          S. Bains said that this cell would also help in building the capacity of teachers and send them on special visits to foreign countries to implement their improved policies in the Government Schools of Punjab. The International Education Affairs Cell will create a transparent system for the selection of officers and teachers, who can go on foreign tours for education purposes. The cell will prepare programs for capacity building of educational administrators, school heads and teachers of government schools working in various cadres and will also evaluate their capacity building through national-international visits.The Education Minister said that the selection of various national and international orientation programs by the department is to be done after applying on the portal being prepared, and after passing through the process of special written test and interview. In this process, if any teacher or official uses any kind of external or political influence, then departmental action will be taken against him/her and blacklist will also be made to deprive him/her of the selection of this process in the future.

IEP Chandigarh, November 11     

     Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra on Friday called upon people to initiate joint efforts to contain breeding of dengue larvae with ensuring complete caution, awareness besides there should no stagnated water in the house premises, offices, open places and streets.           Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is already taking concrete steps against the increasing cases of dengue and health authorities have already been directed to ensure prompt treatment with requisite tests for effective prevention of the dengue, said the Minister seeking fulsome support and cooperation from general public in implementing all the precautions in larger public interest.          Mr. Jauramajra said that directions had already been issued to all civil surgeons to setup dengue wards, intensify fogging activities in rural and urban areas.          The Cabinet Minister said that the Health Department, with the support of the Panchayat Department and the Local Government Department, is taking immediate steps to prevent dengue by identifying dengue-prone sensitive areas in villages and cities. Work is being done to stop the breeding of dengue mosquito aedes agypti and to identify hotspot areas and conduct continuous monitoring of such areas.          Mr. Jauramajra said that prevention of dengue is possible only by eliminating the source of dengue mosquito production. He said that instructions have already been issued to the officials of the concerned departments regarding the prevention of dengue and to prevent the increase of dengue cases in villages/cities. Officials have also been asked to sensitize the people to seek medical advice immediately if any symptoms appear. He said that people are being made aware of the precautions to be taken to protect against dengue and it is being ensured that public announcements are conducted in rural as well as urban areas.          The Health Minister further said that the health department is continuously conducting activities regarding the precautions to be taken to protect against dengue and people are also being made aware regarding the symptoms of dengue. He said that more attention is being paid to the areas where cases are coming in large numbers. He said that in case of high fever accompanied by headache, pain in the back of the eyes and stiffness in the back, red patches on the body, one should get himself or herself tested for dengue and the number of platelet cells should be tested.