IEP Chandigarh, December 10

As we are celebrating Human Rights Day, Haryana Chief Minister took this celebration a step further after he gifted ‘Right to Health facilities’ to the people of the State as he distributed CHIRAYU cards to the eligible beneficiaries under CHIRAYU Haryana scheme.

        Sh. Manohar Lal while virtually inaugurating CHIARYU card distribution programme here today said that under this scheme, free treatment facility up to Rs 5 lakh will be provided to eligible beneficiaries on the lines of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

        The Chief Minister said that the CHIARYU Haryana scheme was launched from Manesar on November 21, 2022, and in less than a month, more than 2000 people have availed of the scheme benefits.

        He said that today the programme of distribution of CHIRAYU cards is being done at about 2000 places, in which these cards will be distributed to about 5 lakh families.

Persons With Disabilities (PwDs) would also be covered under this scheme, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

        The Chief Minister said that a target has been set to distribute Chirayu cards to all 1.25 crore eligible beneficiaries by December 31. Even today, cards are being distributed by setting up camps at 2,000 locations. Similarly, in the future too, cards will be distributed by setting up such camps in all the villages and cities, he added.

        The scheme is completely cashless, paperless, transparent, digital, and IT-driven, which provides free treatment as per PMJAY guidelines in a total of 729 public and empaneled private hospitals across Haryana. The needy only have to go to the hospital and show their PPP ID to avail of the treatment facility.

CHIRAYU Haryana scheme launched to give health security to every Antyodaya

        Sh. Manohar Lal said that under the leadership of Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi, the Central Government announced Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the year 2018, the objective of which was to provide health facilities to the needy and deprived in the country. The income limit of the eligible beneficiaries under this scheme was Rs 1.20 lakh per annum, he added.

        In Haryana also as per the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data of the year 2011 and as per the criteria of the central government, about 15.50 lakh families were identified in Haryana, in which More than 9 lakh families were getting the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana scheme. But to provide the benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana to more poor and needy families, the state government increased the annual income limit of BPL families from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.

        The Chief Minister said that apart from the families included in the SECC list in the state, CHIRAYU Haryana Yojana has been started only to give benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana to all Antyodaya families whose annual income is up to Rs 1.80 lakh. The treatment expenditure of up to Rs 5 lakh of the families to be included in this scheme will be borne by the state government, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.

In terms of providing health facilities, Haryana is better than other states

        The Chief Minister said that Haryana is better than other states in terms of providing health facilities. The Health Department under the guidance of the Health Minister, Sh. Anil Vij is continuously working for strengthening and expansion of health facilities, due to which the state has also received many awards.

        Sh. Manohar Lal said that under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the first beneficiary across the country was also from Haryana. Not only this, but Haryana was also the first state to link Ayushman Yojana with an Aadhaar card.

        He said that only 20,000 to 25,000 people were able to take advantage of Ayushman Bharat Yojana, but after receiving the CHIRAYU cards 60 to 70 thousand citizens are expected to take advantage of this scheme every month.

        The Chief Minister. said that till now claims of Rs 150 to 200 crore were being given under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, but under the CHIRAYU Haryana scheme, the state government has kept a budget of Rs 500 crore.

        Sh. Manohar Lal said that at present, treatment of 1500 types of diseases is being provided in the empaneled hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The Haryana government intends to provide treatment for these diseases in all government hospitals of the state. For this, ICU arrangements are being made in the hospitals which do not have ICUs, and specialist doctors will also be deployed, he added.

        The Chief Minister said that the state government has announced its plan of opening a medical college in every district, under which at present colleges have either been built or are under construction in many districts.

He said that at present 1800 MBBS doctors are enrolled in the state, but after setting up of one college in every district, more than 3000 doctors will be passing out from these colleges, due to which the shortage of doctors will be fulfilled.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that as per the World Health Organisation, there should be one doctor per 1000 population. Thus there is a requirement of about 28,000 doctors in Haryana and presently there are 13,000 doctors. That’s why we have also appealed to new doctors to spend 5 years in government services so that common people can get the benefit of health facilities, he added.

Started Nirogi Haryana Yojana to keep the person healthy

The Chief Minister said that when a person is ill, he gets the benefit of health facilities under Ayushman Bharat or CHIRAYU Yojana, but the state government is trying to ensure that the person remains healthy and does not fall ill. For this, the Nirogi Haryana Yojana was recently launched by the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu from Kurukshetra.

        Under this, a health survey of all Antyodaya families will be done in the first phase so that any kind of health ailments can be diagnosed at an early stage only.  Health survey cards for 50,000 people have been made under the Nirogi Haryana Yojana. At present, the survey is being conducted at 32 centres. This type of facility will be started at 2000 centres in the coming time, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

Parks and Vayayamshalas have been built in 600 villages

Sh. Manohar Lal said that according to the call made by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi, work is being done at a fast pace to set up wellness centres in the state. Parks and Vayayamshalas are being built in the villages.

There is a target of setting up parks and Vayayamshalas in 1000 villages, out of which these have been constructed in 600 villages and yoga Sahayak have also been appointed here so that people can stay healthy by doing yoga and exercise and changing their diet, added the Chief Minister.

Special camps being organized to rectify PPP errors

The Chief Minister said that Haryana has taken care of every Antyodaya through Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). 95-96 percent of PPP data has been completed. Still, some errors have been noticed. To correct these errors, special camps are being organized across the state on December 11 and December 16, 17, and 18, where citizens can get the errors rectified, he added.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that complaints related to pensions are also coming, and such citizens can also get their errors rectified by visiting these camps. New PPP cards are also being made through these camps. Not only this, but from January 1, 2023, ration cards will also start being made for families having an annual income of Rs 1.80 lakh, he added.

The Chief Minister said that under Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana, economic upliftment of very poor families has also been ensured, under which people will be helped to start self-employment through loans from banks, help in private jobs or by providing skill training is also being done.

        Not only this, but the state government has also set up an Overseas Placement Cell to provide job opportunities to the youth of the state abroad.

Chief Minister has brought IT revolution in Haryana

        Speaking on the occasion, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Dr. Amit Agrawal expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for the distribution of CHIRAYU cards.

He said that the implementation of this beneficial scheme in such a good manner has been possible because of the IT revolution brought in the State under the dynamic leadership of the Chief Minister because of which the identification of eligible beneficiaries from the database registered in PPP has become possible in such a short time. 

         He said that so far about 2800 eligible persons have benefited from CHIARYU, for which the officials of the Health Department deserve to be congratulated.

        Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. D.S. Dhesi, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V Umashankar, Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Sh. Bharat Bhushan Bharti and other senior officers also remained present on the occasion.

IEP Chandigarh, December 06

As the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ebb, we are beginning to witness a massive surge in international travel both for work and leisure. India, in fact, has seen a jump of 3X in international travellers this year, which is likely to double next year.

In order to make staying connected easy, intuitive and compelling, Airtel has launched ‘Airtel World Pass’. The World Pass revolutionises the experience for all international travel because it works seamlessly across 184 countries. So even if you are en-route at an Airport or travelling to two or more countries one pack now covers all your roaming needs.

This change comes on the back of extensive customer research conducted by Airtel that showed that many customers find International Roaming packs in general confusing across the whole global Telco industry. As a result, many are not connected when they want to be. Or they seek complex alternatives of temporary connections abroad. Airtel has now solved this problem structurally with the launch of the Airtel World pass.

Commenting on the launch of the Airtel World Pass, Shashwat Sharma, Director Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel said, “At Airtel, our mission is to solve customer problems so that our experience speaks for itself. The feedback that we have heard on international travel related concerns has compelled us to launch a defining proposition for our customers – the Airtel World Pass. This offers our customers one pack for the globe, significantly greater value, allows them to control what they use on the app and allows for emergency data usage long after the pack allowance is over.” 

“With Airtel World pass, we have set a new standard in the global telecom industry. I am certain our customers will benefit hugely from it as they travel the world, keeping their phones switched on, no matter where they are. As a matter of fact, our new plans offer significantly better value than travel or local sims in most countries.” Sharma added.

Airtel World Pass – Key Features

·                       One Plan for travel to 184 countries. No confusion over which zone or pack to select. No need for multiple packs across multiple countries or transit airports

·                       24X7 Call centre support for the customer from any corner of the world, absolutely free of cost. A dedicated number 99100-99100 available on call and WhatsApp for all international travelling customer, serviced with a network and experience specialist squad for a real-time resolution of issues.

·                       Special Packs for long stay/frequent travellers – Prepaid and postpaid packs specifically designed for frequent travellers and long stay customers that offer up to 1 year validity at an affordable cost.

·                       Plans packed with significantly higher value for customers. In addition, customers will have Unlimited data available for emergency usage and messaging applications.

·                       All control in the customers hand where they can manage their entire International roaming needs on the Airtel Thanks app, with updates on usage, billing amount or addition of data or minutes as needed.   

IEP Chandigarh, December 5

Customer favourite, Veg Surprise Burger is back on as part of the menu at McDonald’s India- North and East.

A complete value for money, the Veg Surprise Burger is priced at INR 65, available à-la-carte or with Value Meals and Double Patty variant at McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India or through McDelivery including Swiggy, Zomato and Magic Pin by takeaway or drive-thru.

IEP Chandigarh, November 30, 2022

The visit of the External Peer Review Committee chaired by Dr Satish Kumar, Chairman, Armaments Research Board, Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, GOI, to the campus of Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University,) Chandigarh, concluded today after a hectic schedule of three days. The committee members after multiple interactions and a lot of discussions during the visit prepared and finalised the report on 30th November 2022. The prepared report will be submitted to the Board of Governors for further assessment.The visit started on 28th November 2022 intending to evaluate the academic and administrative functioning and prepare a roadmap for the institute.The visit started with a detailed presentation made by Prof. Baldev Setia, Director-PEC, apprising the committee members of the functioning of PEC, followed by presentations by deans about their respective domains. The presentation was followed by the committee members visiting the Central Facilities, including Computer Centre, Library, Career Development & Guidance Centre, Semiconductor Research Facility, and Central Research Facility.

The second day of the visit started with the members of the committee visiting various departments and labs on the campus in which the head of the departments made interactive presentations about their departments, followed by lab visits and meetings with all the stakeholders, including the faculty members, PEC students, staff members and the PEC alumni.

IEP Chandigarh, November 17

Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar said that Haryana is leading in crop production and horticulture, the more we praise, the less it is. Today it is essential for farmers to cultivate new crops and use advance technology to produce better quality.  It is a matter of immense pleasure that Haryana Farmers and the state government is adopting such advance methods of agriculture, he added. Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar was speaking at the inauguration of 30 integrated pack houses across the state at Aterna village in Sonipat. On this occasion, Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh. J.P  Dalal was also present.While attending the programme, Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar first inaugurated 30 integrated pack houses established across the state and lauded the schemes being launched by the Haryana Government for the welfare of farmers.  He said that 30 pack houses are being set up across the state through FPOs in Haryana.  The Haryana Government has been making concrete efforts to set up 500 pack houses instead of 100 pack houses in the state. This initiative will change the image of Haryana in the field of Horticulture.Sh. Tomar said that the Government of India led by the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi has been working in the interest of farmers. For the welfare of the farmers, the central government has deposited Rs. 2.17 lakh crore in their accounts under the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.  The Minimum Support Price was fixed twice for Rabi and Kharif crops and farmers are getting huge benefit from this initiative of the government.  Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar further said that the Haryana Government has adopted and implemented schemes on the tune of schemes launched by Central Government. He also praised the Haryana government for starting an insurance scheme for fruits and vegetables.Haryana, a leading state in farming- TomarSh. Narendra Singh Tomar said that Haryana is the leading state in agriculture.  The farmers of Haryana have taken innovative measures in the last 7 to 8 years.  The Haryana Government has also helped the farmers to purchase other cereal grains.  He said that growth in agriculture is the results of the new schemes of the Central Government.  He also appreciated the constructive steps being taken by Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal and Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Sh.. J. P Dalal in the agriculture sector.The Central and Haryana Government know the importance and priority of agricultureSh. Narendra Tomar said that India is an agricultural country.  The importance of agriculture has been taken on priority basis by the Central and Haryana Government. Long ago, knowing the problem of the farmers, the central government purchased the crop by setting up more purchase centres. During that period, the sowing of crop was more than the previous years and the export of agricultural products was worth of Rs. 3.45 lakh crore.Haryana Government has number of schemes of the welfare of farmers– JP DalalHaryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh. J. P Dalal welcomed the Union Agriculture Minister, Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar on his arrival in Haryana.  He said that Haryana is a state of farmers and has number of farmers’ welafre schemes including Crop Insurance Scheme, Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana, purchase of crops on MSP, proper arrangement of mandis etc.  He said that under the guidance and vision of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Sh. Manohar Lal, pack houses have been set up in the state through FPOs.  This step will benefit the farmers in the coming days.Sh. J. P Dalal said that today there are 11 excellence centers in the state, through which maximum plants are being prepared and distributed to the farmers.  Farmers of Haryana are availing the benefit of crop insurance scheme. The Haryana government has formed a Pond and Wastewater Management Authority for the renovation of ponds.Sh. J. P Dalal said that cold stores, pack houses are being set up in the state.  The world’s largest vegetable market is being set up in Gannaur, which will be spread over 550 acres with the expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore. This will provide employment opportunities to thousands of people.100 Pack Houses will be set up in Haryana this year- Sumita MisraAdditional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Smt. Sumita Misra informed that so far 33 pack houses have been set up in Haryana while work is under process to set up 35 more pack houses.  A target has been taken to set up 100 pack houses by this year. She said that the vision of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi is being implemented at the grass root level under the guidance of Chief Minister Sh. Manohar Lal.On this occasion MP, Sonipat, Sh. Ramesh Chander Kaushik also welcomed and congratulated Union Minister, Sh. Narendra Singh Tomar on his arrival in Sonipat.  MLA, Sh. Mohan Lal Badoli, Director General of Agriculture Department, Sh. Hardeep Singh, Director General of Horticulture Department, Sh. Arjun Singh Saini and other senior officers were present on the occasion.

IEP CHANDIGARH

The special cordon and search operation carried out by the Punjab Police on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann yielded successful results after Police teams have apprehended as many as 98 persons, including three proclaimed offenders, involved in different crimes. A total of 97 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered in this regard.          Sharing the outcome of the CASO operation carried out across the state on Tuesday, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said that over 12000 Police Personnel under the supervision of ADGsP/IGsP and concerned CPs/SSPs carried out CASO across the state.          He said that the police teams have recovered 1Kg Heroin, Rs 10.91 lakh drug money, 158ltrs Illicit Liquor, 660kg lahan, 103kg poppy husk, 19kg Bhang and 10460 intoxicant tablets. Apart from this, the police have also recovered two pistols, one rifle and one gun along with ammunition and 30 motorcycles during the five hour long operation.          Meanwhile, DGP Gaurav Yadav had joined ADGP Community Affairs Division and Women Affairs Gurpreet Kaur and Commissioner of Police (CP) Ludhiana Mandeep Singh Sidhu in Ludhiana to personally supervise the operation in different areas of the Ludhiana Commissionerate. Similarly, ADGP Ishwar Singh supervised CASO in SAS Nagar, ADGP Dr Jitendra Kumar Jain in Fazilka, ADGP Shashi Prabha Dwivedi in Patiala, ADGP Dr Naresh Arora in Fatehgarh Sahib, ADGP Ram Singh in Jalandhar Commissionerate, ADGP AS Rai in Amritsar Commissionerate, ADGP Anita Punj in Jalandhar Rural, ADGP G Nageswara Rao in Bathinda, ADGP Vibhu Raj in Malerkotla and ADGP LK Yadav in Ludhiana Rural.

IEP Chandigarh November 4

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested the accused commission agent Anil Jain, owner of Shri Krishna Rice Mill, Sawaddi, in Ludhiana district, in the case already registered by the Bureau against the contractors for getting labour cartage and transportation tenders in the grain markets at higher rates in connivance with officials. He was produced in court today and remanded for TWO days police custody.Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the VB said that during the arrest of accused Jain, his Innova car has also been taken into possession and one briefcase containing documents has also been recovered from the car and further investigation is in process.He informed that accused Anil Jain has been arrested in a case under FIR No. 11 Dated 16-08-2022, under section 420, 409, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC and 7, 8, 12, 13(2) of prevention of corruption act registered at police station VB range Ludhiana Range in which contractors/tenderers namely Telu Ram and others are included.The spokesperson further added that in this case accused Telu Ram, former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and commission agent Krishan Lal Dhotiwala have already been arrested and all are in judicial custody. He informed that the accused Anil Jain was nominated later on during investigation and was avoiding his arrest and his anticipatory bail application was also dismissed by the High Court.Revealing more details he said commission agent Anil Jain has also been charged with allegations of bringing Paddy at lesser rates from other states like UP, Bihar etc. in his rice sheller and was selling the same after mixing with purchased paddy of Government quota stored in his sheller. He also used to store paddy purchased by him in his own sheller in violation of the milling policy of State.He further added that Anil Jain was arrested by a VB team from his sheller at village Swaddi Kalan, after putting efforts for 6 hours approximately in the presence of police officials of police station Sidhwan Bet besides Sarpanches of Swaddi (West) and Swaddi (East) and other respectable persons of adjoining villages. He said the accused has called his family members and workers in the seller and locked himself in a room to evade his arrest. He was arrested in the presence of above mentioned responsible persons and family members after breaking the door of room.

IEP Chandigarh, October 14

Haryana State Election Commissioner, Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that conducting free, transparent and fair elections is a very important task.

“Departments including Police, Health, Power, Excise and Taxation and others should work amicably to ensure peaceful, free and fair poll,” added Sh. Dhanpat Singh, while chairing the state-level meeting with the top official regarding the conduct of general elections of three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the State held in Panchkula today.

Director General of Police, Sh. P.K Agarwal, top officials of the Education Department, Panchayat Department, Information, Public Relations and Language Department remained present in the meeting.

Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that Panchayat elections are being conducted in different phases in the state. In the second phase, voting will be held in 9 districts namely, Ambala, Charkhi Dadri, Gurugram, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa and Sonipat.

In these districts, voting for members Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti will be held on November 9, and on November 12 polls for the posts of Sarpanch and Panch will be held, shared Sh. Dhanpat Singh.

The State Election Commissioner said that with the election announcement, the model code of conduct has come into force in the rural areas of the above nine districts with immediate effect.  There will be a complete ban on the transfer of officers or employees deputed for election duty.

He further informed that the state government cannot announce any new schemes, new projects etc. in the rural areas of these districts. In the districts where the model code of conduct is in force, the government cannot inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for any building, project, etc.

Booths in sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas will be closely monitored

Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that elaborate arrangements are being made by the police for the conduct of elections in a fair, transparent and peaceful manner. Further immediate action should be taken if someone is found posing with an unlicensed weapon. Police will also be responsible for ensuring the safety of the EVMs. An adequate police force shall be deployed to maintain law and order at the polling stations and extra police force will be provided in sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas. Police patrol should be increased in villages, he added.

The uninterrupted power supply should be ensured at the polling booths

Sh. Dhanpat Singh directed the Power Department to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply at the polling booths. In the polling booths where there is any problem related to electricity, the department should visit these booths in advance and ensure better arrangements there.

He further directed the Education, Technical Education and Industrial Training Departments that if any repair is required in the educational institutions where polling booths are to be set up, it should be completed well in advance. Arrangements of ramps etc. should be made at these places so that Persons With Disabilities and the elderly can easily cast their votes.

Adequate arrangements should be made for clean drinking water and cleanliness in toilets at all polling booths, directed Sh. Dhanpat Singh.

Police and Excise Department to closely monitor the sale of illegal liquor

Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that the police and the Excise and Taxation Department should keep a close watch on the sale of illicit liquor during elections. Regular raids and patrolling should be done continuously in those areas where any suspicious activities are reported.

A complete ban on the purchase and sale of liquor in these areas should be ensured a day before the polling and on the day of polling and counting of votes. There will be a complete ban on the sale of liquor within one kilometre of the polling area, said Sh. Dhanpat Singh.

Panchayat election activities can be seen on the ‘Mhari Panchayat’ portal

Sh. Dhanpat Singh said that this time all the activities related to Panchayat elections can be seen on the ‘Mhari Panchayat’ portal developed by NIC. In this, the nominations of the candidates, the final lists of the contesting candidates will be uploaded. Besides this, an e-dashboard has been prepared for the day of polling and counting so that anyone can see the poll trends, voting percentage and final results sitting at home, informed Sh. Dhanpat Singh.

COVID protocol and arrangements for first aid should be ensured at every polling booth

Sh. Dhanpat Singh directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department that the guidelines and directions issued regarding COVID-19-related protocol should be meticulously followed during elections. Besides this, complete arrangements for first aid in the nearest dispensary, primary health centre, community health centre or general hospital should also be ensured in case of any injury during elections.

State Election Commission Secretary, Dr. Inderjit, Additional Director Information (Admn), Public Relations and Languages Department, Smt. Varsha Khangwal, Joint Director (Admn), Sh. Aman Kumar and other senior officers also remained present in this meeting.