IEP Chandigarh, June 16

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday batted for optimum utilisation of The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme to give boost to development in rural areas on one hand and provide livelihood opportunities on the other hand.

Chairing a meeting here to review the functioning of scheme here today, the Chief Minister said that this scheme is important as it provides enhancement of livelihood security, giving at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household, whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. He said that the scheme  has been implemented in all districts across the state from April 2008 adding that state government will enhance the budget of this ambitious scheme upto Rs 2000 crore. Bhagwant Mann said that it is heartening to learn that 11.53 lakh active job cards are there in state with 14.86 lakh active workers.

The Chief Minister bemoaned that wage rate notified under MGNREGA for State Rs 303/- is less in comparison to neighbouring State Haryana where it is Rs 357 adding that the state government will vehemently raise this issue with the Union government. He also said that state government will also make concerted efforts for Inclusion of “Laying of Underground Pipeline” activities in Permissible List for accelerating works relating irrigation, water supply and sanitation can be undertaken. Bhagwant Mann also said that the state Government will also request government of India to provide Corpus funds under the scheme.

The Chief Minister also said that the state government will also seek enhancement of Mandays Budget given by GOI as only 250 lakh mandays target for the State has been assigned which is too less than previous year achievement of 321 lakh mandays. He also underscored the need to further popularise the scheme for giving benefits to the common man. Bhagwant Mann also said that an information board should be installed at every work place under the scheme so that awareness can be created among the general public about the scheme and the details of the work done can reach the people

The Chief Minister also asked the officers to popularise the scheme through social media platforms like Facebook Page, YouTube Channel, twitter and WhatsApp groups for the purpose of sharing Best Practices and for disseminating requisite information to the rural masses. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that the scheme can be a game changer in transforming the lives of weaker and underprivileged sections besides giving impetus to development works in rural areas.

IEP Chandigarh, June 13   

       Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday asked the Department of Social Justice to redress the 93 complaints received against persons acquiring government employment on the basis of fake SC certificates, within 15 days.          Chairing a meeting along with Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minority Dr. Baljeet Kaur with the representatives of ‘Reservation Chor Fado Morcha’ here at Punjab Bhawan, the Finance Minister also asked the Social Justice Department to take action within a month on the list of other such cases provided by the leaders of the Morcha. He said that the department should coordinate with the Advocate General’s office to ensure concrete action regarding such cases that are under trial in various courts.          Emphasizing on creating a complete check on the practice of obtaining reservation in government jobs through fake certificates, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema asked the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities to write to all government departments to ensure that the documents related to reservation claim should be thoroughly scrutinized during the probation period of the concerned person. He also asked the department to prepare a proposal regarding the necessary reforms need in the process of making caste-based certificates so that this problem can be eradicated from the roots.          During the meeting, the representatives of the ‘Reservation Chor Fado Morcha’ discussed in detail about the cases of getting government employment on the basis of fake SC certificates. On this, Additional Chief Secretary Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Department Ramesh Kumar Ganta said that the department has so far received a total of 93 complaints out of which 26 cases have been heard and forwarded further to the Scrutiny Committee. Director Social Justice Jaspreet Singh apprised the ministers that the remaining 77 cases will also be heard soon. He assured that all these matters will be resolved within a month.

IEP Chandigarh, June 13

:The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Tuesday nabbed an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI/LR) Bhupinder Singh posted at Police Station, Chatiwind (Amritsar) for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said the accused police official has been arrested on the complainant of Sarwan Singh, resident of village Gurwali in district Amritsar.Giving details, he added that the complainant has approached the Police Station VB Range Amritsar and lodged complaint that ASI Bhupinder Singh has demanded Rs 10,000 as a bribe to help him in getting regular bail from High Court in the case registered against him and others under sections of 323, 379-A, 427, 452, 506, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station Chatiwind on 13-02-2023. The ASI Bhupinder Singh was investigating the case.The spokesperson informed that after preliminary investigation of this complaint, a team of VB Police Station, Amritsar Range laid a trap and arrested the accused police official red handed while accepting bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.In this regard, a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused ASI at VB police station, Amritsar Range. Further investigation in this case was under progress.

IEP Chandigarh, June 13

Asserting to establish industry is important for a country’s progress as it augments economic and employment growth, Punjab Investment Promotion Minister Anmol Gagan Maan on Tuesday invited young entrepreneurs from Punjab to come forward with their unique business ideas.

During a function organised by Innovation Mission Punjab during its flagship Accelerator Program’s Demo day, the Minister said the State has started Innovation Mission Punjab as a public-private partnership to boost the startup ecosystem in Punjab, leading to the state’s overall economic growth and social development. It, in turn, will open avenues for employment, which has a direct impact on the levels of migration.” Speaking about the program, she informed that the IMPunjab works towards discovering, mentoring, and scaling startups by eventually making them investment ready.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, IMPunjab said that the Mission envisions creating a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Punjab. Punjab has great entrepreneurial talent and has unique strengths in tourism, food, music, art, agriculture, healthcare etc.  Through IMPunjab we’ve brought together the best global investors and business leaders to mentor the entrepreneurial talent in the State. We have been able to support the early-stage startups through the Accelerator and Pollinator programs by enabling them to utilize their best potential, to drive growth and leverage the ecosystem in the state.

Innovation Mission Punjab concluded its second Accelerator Program with its Spring Cohort 2023 consisting of 50% women founders and about a third of them migrating to Punjab spread across various sectors such as Health & Wellness, Consumer Technology, Deep Tech, & FinTech. The second cohort comes on the back of the success of the first program, launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, where approximately 50% of the Cohort raised ~5Cr cumulatively.

The Minister congratulated the Mission on its focus to encourage entrepreneurs. She also interacted with the startups, encouraging them to continue building their companies with grit and determination.  

On this occasion, an insightful brainstorming session was held between Kanwalijit Singh from Fireside Ventures and Chairman of IMPunjab Pramod Bhasin on building successful D2C brands in India. Mr. Kanwaljit Singh congratulated the Mission on its excellent work in providing mentorship, a cornerstone to building successful startups.       

The Mission’s Board and Advisors include Saurabh Srivastava, widely acknowledged as an architect of the Indian IT Industry, noted economist and author Ajay Shah, D.S. Brar, Promoter-Chairman, GVK Bio, and award-winning film producer Bobby Bedi. The Mission also has Kawaljit Singh, Fireside Ventures, Naina Lal Kidwai, Rajan Anandan, Ido Arahoni, architect of Brand Israel.

IEP Chandigarh, June 13

  In a major breakthrough aimed at facilitating the industrial growth in the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today handed over unique green colour coded stamp paper to two industrialists of the state. Handing over the stamp papers, the Chief Minister said that this a red letter day for the industrialists of the state. He said that this unique colour coded stamp papers is a step forward towards ushering a new era of Industrial Revolution in the state adding that the notification for this scheme was issued on May 12 this year. Bhagwant Mann said that Punjab is the first state to introduce green colored stamp papers to facilitate the entrepreneurs for setting up their units thereby giving much needed fillip to industrial growth of the state. The Chief Minister described it as a revolutionary step aimed at promoting ease of doing business for the entrepreneurs desirous of setting up their units in the state. He said that any industrialist who is keen on setting his industrial unit in the state can get this unique colour coded stamp paper from Invest Punjab Portal. Bhagwant Mann said that industrialists will have to just pay various fees required for getting clearances in form of CLU, forest, Pollution, Fire and other to set up his unit while purchasing this single stamp paper only. The Chief Minister said that after purchasing the stamp paper, these two industrialists have got all the necessary clearances from all the departments within 17 days to set up their units. He said that this first of its kind initiative by the state government will give a major fillip to the industry in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that this will facilitate the industrialists in a big way by saving their time, money and energy. The Chief Minister further said that green color stamp paper will symbolize that the industrialist has already paid the entire fee for the clearances required for industry. He announced that the same color coding will also be implemented in other sectors like housing and others to ensure optimum utilization of the land resources on one hand and facilitating the people on the other. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that this out of the box idea will emerge Punjab as a front runner state across the country in the industrial sector. The Chief Minister expressed hope that this noble initiative will attract more investment in the state thereby generating new employment opportunities for the youth of the state. He reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to ensure the well being of every section of the society adding that every decision of his government is aimed towards this. Bhagwant Mann said that the day is not far when other states will also replicate this industrial friendly initiative of the Punjab government.