Chandigarh, June 28:

The Punjab Government, under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, is tirelessly working for the welfare and upliftment of every section of society. In particular, dedicated initiatives are being undertaken to bring students from Scheduled Castes into the mainstream by providing them better educational opportunities.

Giving further details, Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that a budget provision of ₹245 crore has been made under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste students in the financial year 2025-26. The government has set a target to cover 2.70 lakh Scheduled Caste students under this scheme during the year.

She said this initiative would significantly help in improving the socio-economic standard of these students and enable them to lead self-reliant lives through education.

Dr. Baljit Kaur further added that in the previous financial year, the Punjab Government had covered 2,36,575 students under the scheme, disbursing ₹266.57 crore as the state’s share.

To facilitate applications, the Dr. Ambedkar Scholarship Portal will be opened shortly for online submissions, she informed. Besides this, awareness camps will also be organized at the district level to ensure that eligible students are well-informed about the scheme and avail its benefits without difficulty.

The Cabinet Minister emphasized that the Punjab Government is committed to supporting every eligible Scheduled Caste student through this scholarship so that no talented student is deprived of education due to financial constraints. She said, “It is our sincere effort to ensure that children belonging to communities historically subjected to discrimination get fair and equal opportunities to pursue higher education.”

Dr. Baljit Kaur also highlighted that over the years, thousands of SC students have successfully completed their higher education under this scheme and today hold prestigious positions in government services, private jobs, and have even started their own businesses.

She directed the concerned officials to ensure that the benefits of the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme reach every deserving student and stressed that the scheme should be implemented with complete transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Chandigarh, June 28:

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak today congratulated Mr. Jasvir Singh Sekhon on being appointed as the Member of the Punjab State Food Commission by the State Government.

Extending his Congratulations to Jasvir Singh Sekhon, the Minister expressed gratitude to the Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. He further expressed confidence that Mr. Sekhon would fully justify the faith reposed in his abilities and ensure that the schemes initiated by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department are percolated to all sections of the society especially those linked with the farming sector as it is the core part of the procurement operations.

Notably, Mr. Sekhon has Sekhon appointed as Member of the commission under Section 16 of the National Food Security Act (Central Act 20 of 2013), 2013.

Chandigarh, June 28:

The Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has issued an order to suspend 26 officers and employees of Jail Department for dereliction of duty.

Punjab Jail Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar informed that 26 officers and employees of Jail Department have been suspended with immediate effect under Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970 for dereliction of duty/negligence.

Giving a clear message to the officers and employees on duty in the jails of Punjab, the Minister said that illegal activities, misbehavior, indiscipline, absence from duty and activities like involvement with prisoners will not be tolerated at all.

The Minister said that Iqbal Singh Brar Superintendent District Jail Mansa, Maninder Pal Cheema Deputy Superintendent Central Jail Ludhiana, Anil Bhandari Deputy Superintendent Borstal Jail Ludhiana, Sandeep Brar Deputy Superintendent Central Jail Ludhiana, Yadvinder Singh ASJ Central jail Ferozepur Apart from Warders Harbhupinder Singh and Sikander Singh Goindwal Sahib, Bikramjit Singh and Vijay Pal Singh Amritsar, Jatinder Singh, Ravi, Deepak Rai, Kiranjit Singh, Prithipal Singh and Satnam Singh Kapurthala, Satnam Singh and Mandeep Singh Hoshiarpur, Maninder Pal Singh Ludhiana, Anu Malik, Randhir Singh, Arvind Dev Singh, Balvir Singh and Sukhpreet Singh Mansa, Satnam Singh Nabha, Gagandeep Singh Bathinda and Anmol Verma Pathankot etc. have been suspended.

The Jail Minister said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann is committed to providing good administration to the state and negligence in the duty of any officer or employee will not be tolerated. He warned all the officers and employees of the department and said that they should ensure that their duties are done honestly, diligently and according to the rules.

Chandigarh:

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S.  Kultar Singh Sandhwan interacted with professors and more than 100 students of 35 colleges of Punjab.  The students asked him about the various functions of the Vidhan Sabha and duties of the Speaker.  Besides this, students also asked the speaker how they manage the political pressure during the session. The Speaker replied that he provide an equal opportunity to the opposition to speak in the House.

Speaker Sandhwan said that politics is a selfless service and we should serve our nation with complete honesty and dedication. The students asked him what more steps could be taken to keep the proceedings of the House more transparent. Responding to the student’s question, the Speaker said that if these three wings – Judiciary, Executive and Legislature do their work efficiently, more transparency can be brought into the proceedings of the House.

Highlighting further, Speaker Sandhwan said that to make the proceedings of the House more transparent, he has already implemented live telecast of the House since 2022 so that everyone can watch the proceedings and become aware of the proceedings of the House.  He urged the students to watch the proceedings of the House  and they must ask the concerned MLA regarding new laws they have promulgated for their welfare.

Students have also brought in the knowledge of the Speaker that the cost of getting higher education has become very expensive and what steps have been taken by the government pertaining to this, the Speaker asserted that education should be provided free of cost to the students.  He said that he will write a letter to the  Chief Minister, Punjab on this matter and request him  that necessary steps should be taken to provide higher education free of cost.  Sandhwan asked the students to adopt their mother tongue in full letter and spirit and also learn other languages along with it.

The students asked the Speaker that one has to pay lakhs of rupees to get a ticket of major political parties, responding to their question, the Speaker said that I was a Sarpanch of a village and the Aam Aadmi Party gave me a ticket without taking any amount.  He further said if you are serving the common people wholeheartedly,  then big political parties will approach  and offer you tickets to contest in the elections.

He stressed that Politics is a selfless service and we should connect with grass root level. We should also listen to the grievances of the people so that we can become aware of their issues and resolve them.

He asked the students to recite daily one Shabad of Gurbani. He further said that industries should be promoted further to make Punjab prosperous. He added that there is a need to convert agriculture into an agribusiness because the land of the Punjab is very fertile. It is very difficult to find such fertile land.

He further advised the students should keep their dreams high and only those who have high dreams get their dreams fulfilled and not to take stress in their life and live their life happily. During this interaction with the students, many important issues were discussed including One Nation One Election also.

On this occasion, students and professors presented a shawl, a heritage hand fan, and scenery to the Speaker.

 On this occasion, Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar MLA, Jeevan Jyot Kaur MLA, Fauja Singh Srari MLA, Vijay Singla MLA, Manwinder Singh Giaspura MLA, Gurdit Singh Sekhon MLA and Dr. Sukhjinder Rishi Director Youth Welfare of Panjab University, Dr. Tejinder Gill Assistant Director Youth Welfare of Panjab University , Professor Jagwinder Kaur, Professor Bhupinder Kaur, Professor Poonam Dwivedi, Professor Sarbjit Kaur, Professor Heena, Iqbal Preet Singh, Amit Sharma, Ajit Kumar were also present.

CHANDIGARH/PATHANKOT, June 25:

          In order to ensure the safe and smooth conduct of the Shri Amarnath Yatra 2025, Punjab Police has implemented a comprehensive, multi-layered, and inter-agency security and coordination plan, deploying advanced surveillance, strategic force deployment, and round-the-clock coordination for the safety of pilgrims, said Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla here on Wednesday.

          The sacred Shri Amarnath Yatra 2025 is scheduled to commence on July 3, 2025 and will continue till August 9, 2025. This annual pilgrimage draws lakhs of devotees from all across India, many of whom travel through Punjab, particularly Pathankot district, on their way to the holy cave shrine in Jammu & Kashmir.

          The Special DGP was chairing a high-level comprehensive security and coordination meeting of Police, Army, Civil Administration, and other security agencies to review and strengthen the security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage.

          The meeting, which was held in Pathankot, focused on strategic preparations for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, encompassing diverse aspects such as police deployment, security measures, traffic management, and disaster management.

          Special DGP Arpit Shukla emphasised the need for heightened vigilance given Pathankot’s strategic location, which shares 26.385 km of international border with Pakistan and houses critical defence installations. He said that level of security has been further escalated with Commandant level officer has been made incharge of all the roads leading to Jammu & Kashmir.

          He informed that the Yatra route has been divided into well-defined security sectors under the charge of Commandant-rank officers, ensuring 24×7 ground-level supervision and rapid response capabilities in case of any exigency. A 24×7 Command and Control Centre has been established at Nakka Madhopur, supervised by a Gazetted Officer, to monitor all vehicle and pilgrim movements using advanced surveillance systems, he added.

          The Special DGP said that daily anti-sabotage and security checks are being carried out at sensitive locations including railway stations, bus stands, langar (community kitchen) sites, religious places, and across the full Yatra route, to detect and deter any potential threats. The security arrangements are being implemented under the direct supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pathankot Daljinder Singh Dhillon.

          He directed the concerned officers to ensure seamless coordination among all stakeholders, including the Indian Army, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), Jammu & Kashmir Police, Himachal Pradesh Police, and other central agencies.

          He further highlighted the additional technical support including mobile surveillance units, high-resolution CCTV monitoring, drone-based aerial surveillance, GPS-enabled patrolling, and real-time reporting mechanisms are also being actively used to keep vigil around suspicious people.

          Meanwhile, the police have briefed and trained the owners and staff of petrol pumps, dhabas, hotels, guest houses, and other roadside establishments along the route to report any unusual activity, suspicious objects, or unidentified persons to the nearest police station without delay.

Prominent officers including DIG Border Range Satinder Singh, AIG Sukhminder Singh Mann, Deputy Commissioner Pathankot Aditya Uppal, Deputy Commissioner Hoshiarpur Ashika Jain, Deputy Commissioner Kathua Dr Rakesh Minhas, SSP Pathankot Daljinder Singh Dhillon, SSP Hoshiarpur Sandeep Kumar Malik and senior officers from Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Central agencies, and police and civil officials from adjoining states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were also present in the meeting.

Chandigarh June 25, 2025 –

Investigations by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the FIR no. 02 of 2021 registered in Police Station Punjab State Crime and the Vigilance Bureau reveal massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Bikram Singh Majithia. Preliminary investigations reveal that more than Rs. 540 crores of drug money has been laundered through several ways, including

(i)      Huge unaccounted cash worth Rs. 161 crores deposited in bank accounts of companies controlled by Bikram Singh Majithia,

(ii)      Channelization of Rs. 141 crores through suspected foreign entities,

(iii)     Excess deposition of Rs. 236 crores without disclosure/explanation in company financial statements, and

(iv)     Acquisition of movable/immovable assets by Bikram Singh Majithia without any legitimate source of income.

A Punjab Vigilance Bureau spokesperson stated here today that the Vigilance Bureau has registered a case based on a report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating FIR No. 02, dated 20-12-2021 registered u/s 25, 27-A and 29 NDPS Act 1985, PS Punjab State Crime, SAS Nagar wherein substantial evidence has been uncovered indicating massive laundering of drug money by Bikram Singh Majithia.

 These transactions are being investigated by the Vigilance Bureau and the investigations done by the S.I.T. clearly indicate that these funds were laundered drug money funneled into Saraya Industries facilitated by Bikram Singh Majithia.

The VB spokesperson added that so far, Rs. 540 Crores drug money has been tracked as having been generated illegally and by using the influence of Bikram Singh Majithia as a Public Servant being an MLA and holding a Cabinet post in erstwhile Punjab Government.

The VB spokesperson stated that assets, including both immovable/movable in the name of Bikram Singh Majithia and his wife Genieve Kaur have increased substantially for which no legitimate source of income has been provided.

According to the VB spokesperson, searches and seizures have been conducted by the SIT of 22 persons and by the Vigilance Bureau at 03 locations which have yielded over 30 mobile phones, 05 laptops, 03 ipads, 02 desktops, several diaries, many property documents and many documents of Saraya Industries.

The spokesperson stated that Bikram Singh Majithia has been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in accordance with law after following due procedure.

Investigations are ongoing and more arrests, searches and seizures would take place. The investigations would be taken to their logical conclusion by submitting all collected evidence before the court of competent jurisdiction for judicial verdict.

Chandigarh June 25, 2025 –

Investigations by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the FIR no. 02 of 2021 registered in Police Station Punjab State Crime and the Vigilance Bureau reveal massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Bikram Singh Majithia. Preliminary investigations reveal that more than Rs. 540 crores of drug money has been laundered through several ways, including

(i)      Huge unaccounted cash worth Rs. 161 crores deposited in bank accounts of companies controlled by Bikram Singh Majithia,

(ii)      Channelization of Rs. 141 crores through suspected foreign entities,

(iii)     Excess deposition of Rs. 236 crores without disclosure/explanation in company financial statements, and

(iv)     Acquisition of movable/immovable assets by Bikram Singh Majithia without any legitimate source of income.

A Punjab Vigilance Bureau spokesperson stated here today that the Vigilance Bureau has registered a case based on a report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating FIR No. 02, dated 20-12-2021 registered u/s 25, 27-A and 29 NDPS Act 1985, PS Punjab State Crime, SAS Nagar wherein substantial evidence has been uncovered indicating massive laundering of drug money by Bikram Singh Majithia.

 These transactions are being investigated by the Vigilance Bureau and the investigations done by the S.I.T. clearly indicate that these funds were laundered drug money funneled into Saraya Industries facilitated by Bikram Singh Majithia.

The VB spokesperson added that so far, Rs. 540 Crores drug money has been tracked as having been generated illegally and by using the influence of Bikram Singh Majithia as a Public Servant being an MLA and holding a Cabinet post in erstwhile Punjab Government.

The VB spokesperson stated that assets, including both immovable/movable in the name of Bikram Singh Majithia and his wife Genieve Kaur have increased substantially for which no legitimate source of income has been provided.

According to the VB spokesperson, searches and seizures have been conducted by the SIT of 22 persons and by the Vigilance Bureau at 03 locations which have yielded over 30 mobile phones, 05 laptops, 03 ipads, 02 desktops, several diaries, many property documents and many documents of Saraya Industries.

The spokesperson stated that Bikram Singh Majithia has been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in accordance with law after following due procedure.

Investigations are ongoing and more arrests, searches and seizures would take place. The investigations would be taken to their logical conclusion by submitting all collected evidence before the court of competent jurisdiction for judicial verdict.

Chandigarh, June 23

Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said that the state is experiencing a historic industrial revolution, a direct result of the progressive industrial development policies championed by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government. He further emphasised that numerous new initiatives are currently in the pipeline to further accelerate industrial growth within the state.

Addressing the trade fair co-organized by HMT Industrial Park and Maya Garden Group late last evening, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema highlighted the recent implementation of a Fast-track Single Window System. “This innovative system ensures that necessary project permissions are granted within 45 days, with automatic deemed approval and accountability for responsible parties if permissions are not accorded within this timeframe”, said Cheema.

Listing out the achievements of the State Government, the Finance Minister revealed that the Punjab Government has also introduced Colour Coded Stamp Paper for the issuance of registered sale deeds, which now include in-built Change of Land Use (CLU) approval. “Pre-approvals are efficiently processed through the Single Window System within defined timelines by six key departments: Revenue, Housing & Urban Development, Local Government, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Forest & Wildlife, and Labour and Factories”, he added.

The Finance Minister also revealed that the Punjab government has brought forth a comprehensive policy for the clubbing and de-clubbing of plots. This policy directly addresses the long-standing demands of industrial stakeholders to merge or divide adjacent plots, thereby optimising land use and supporting project expansion. He also announced that the state government is actively planning to introduce a policy for the conversion of leasehold plots to freehold.

Underlining the simplification of the CLU process by the state government, Finance Minister Cheema said that the requirement for standalone industries to obtain CLU permissions in permissible zones has been removed. He said that this significant change would reduce both the time and complexity involved in establishing new industrial units across the state.

Reiterating the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government’s unwavering commitment to maximising industrial growth, the Finance Minister said that incentives worth Rs 180 crore have already been provided to the industrial sector during the first two months of the financial year 2025-26. He affirmed that the state government consistently endeavours not only to encourage existing industries but also to attract new enterprises to bolster the state’s industrial ecosystem.

Expressing his profound gratitude to the State Government, Mr. Meghraj Garg, CMD of HMT Group, stated that the HMT Industrial Park, situated in a “Red Zone,” allows for the establishment of every type of industry. He commended the Punjab Government for fostering a conducive environment for industrial growth and ensuring speedy and timely project approvals.

The HMT Industrial Park, a burgeoning hub for emerging industries, is strategically located at Lalru, offering excellent connectivity to NH 22, NH 72, and NH 73.

Among the other notable dignitaries present on the occasion were Director HMT Sudarshan Singla, and CMD Maya Garden Group Satish Jindal.