CHANDIGARH: A three-member committee constituted by the Punjab Government under the chairmanship of DP Reddy, IAS (Retd.) to review the new pension scheme held its meeting via video conference.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Punjab government said that in the meeting the provisions of the new pension scheme and the old pension scheme, their comparison, the possibility of fixing the minimum annuity pension, the late submission of NPS funds etc and various agenda items were discussed.

CHANDIGARH: In an intelligence led operation, the Punjab Police on Friday arrested two Pakistan-backed drug smugglers in Khem Karan sector of Tarn Taran along the International Border, and seized 13 kg heroin consignment from them. A manhunt has been launched for their third accomplice.

CHANDIGARH: The Cabinet Minister and senior Congress leader S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa today took on the Union Government over the issue of farm bills and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar are hell bent upon bringing the farmers from Punjab to devastation through black laws and don’t have even the remotest of connection with farming.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Aruna Chaudhary formally launched ‘Digital Parent Margdarshak Program’ to build up the learning ability of the anganwadi going toddlers, stuck at home and guiding their parents during these unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic.

CHANDIGARH: The 6th State Level Job Fair kick started today under the Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission, the flagship program of the Punjab Government. The Punjab Technical Education and Employment Generation Minister Charanjit Singh Channi inaugurated this week long State level Mega Job Fair through video conference. On the opening day, the job fair started in six districts of the state which included Patiala, Faridkot, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. 

CHANDIGARH: Assuring the farmers of the state that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government remains committed and duty-bound to safeguard their interests; the Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal today said that the fight against anti-farmers Agriculture Bills will continue till our last breath.

CHANDIGARH: Expressing shock at Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s atrocious lies over Punjab’s and the Congress party’s stand on the controversial Farm Bills, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the BJP leader had clearly shed even the pretense of fairness and honesty in pursuit of his party’s demonic agenda.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government has issued instructions to the authorities not to deny admission to students in government schools under any situation. So far this year, the enrollment in government schools has increased by 15.61 per cent (3,44,986 students) and this is the highest increase in a single year till date.

SAN FRANCISCO:Facebook-owned short video making app Instagram Reels is rolling out a new update allowing users to make 30-second videos instead of 15 seconds.

WASHINGTON:The US has imposed new sanctions against Cuba, in an effort to further denying sources of revenue to the government in Havana.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government today gave 3 months extension from October 1st to doctors who are below the age of 60 years.

Disclosing this Health Minister Punjab Balbir Singh Sidhu said that in wake of COVID-19, all doctors who are 58 years and plus below the age of 60 years are given a 3 months extension from October 1st, 2020 to December 31, 2020. He said that earlier, extension have been given from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has arrested Constable Manjinder Singh for duping several persons by impersonating as PA to the Chief Minister, and using the Truecaller app to falsely project him as senior officer of various designations.

DGP Dinkar Gupta has directed Special DGP Punjab Armed Police to dismiss the constable, who has been found to be indulging in criminal acts and was acquitted in three different cases on earlier occasion. Recruited as a constable in Punjab Police in 2006, the cop was at present deployed as a Sentry Guard at 1st IRB near 21 No. Overbridge, Patiala.

NEW DELHI: Government has said that The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed the ceiling prices of 871 scheduled formulations of medicines under National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2015.

The fixation of Ceiling price includes ceiling price of Cardiac Stents under Para 19 of the Drug Price Control Orders (DPCO), 2013 resulting in price reduction for Coronary Stents worked out up to 85% for Bare Metal Stents and 74% for Drug Eluting Stents.

CHANDIGARH: Tightening the noose on Distilleries and Bottling plants indulging into nefarious activities such as smuggling of liquor, the state Excise department has initiated a vigorous exercise to get import permits of all such plants verified from the issuing authorities of different countries.

CHANDIGARH: Decks were cleared on Wednesday for disinvestment of Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals Limited (PACL), with Captain Amarinder Singh led Cabinet stamping its approval for the same.

Accepting the report of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of PACL, as well as the recommendations of the Empowered Group of Ministers set up on September 17, the Cabinet has given the go-ahead for disinvestment of 33.49% equity shareholding of PACL, held by Punjab Government through Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC), according to an official spokesperson.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Government has invited applications from eminent persons having impeccable integrity, high calibre and administrative experience to fill up two vacancies of Member (Official) and one vacancy of Member (Non-Official) of Punjab Public Service Commission.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave approval to rename the Government Medical College, Kapurthala, as Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji State Institute of Medical Sciences and the Government Medical College, Hoshiarpur, as Shaheed Udham Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences Hoshiarpur.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet has approved filling up of 8393 posts of Pre-Primary Teachers in a move which Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said would make the pre-primary government schools more competitive with private institutions and increase enrolment.

CHANDIGARH: To strengthen the medical education and infrastructural facilities at Government and Private medical colleges, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave the nod for revision of fee structure in various nursing courses with effect from academic session 2020-21.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Sing, on Wednesday approved the rules for governing the conduct of business of the Punjab State Police Complaints Authority, 2020, set up earlier this year to probe allegations of serious misconduct against police officers of the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police/Deputy Commissioner of Police & above.

CHANDIGARH: To bring in more transparency and check corruption among public servants, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of a multi-member Vigilance Commission, in line with the vision of Captain Amarinder Singh, who had steered the constitution of a similar Commission back in 2006, which was however scrapped by the Akalis when they came to power in 2007.

CHANDIGARH: International traveler who do not submit a negative RT-PCR test report on arrival at Airport in India shall be tested by Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) Kits. If Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) comes negative for COVID-19 she/he may opt for Home qurantine.

ISLAMABAD:One of the three men allegedly involved in kidnapping and gang-raping a 22-year-old woman gave her "an influential" person's phone number to contact if she needed a job, police said on Wednesday, while quoting the survivor's statement.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday termed the Akalis’ decision to hold a state-wide chakka jam on September 25, the day when Punjab’s farmers had already announced a Bandh against the Farm Bills, as yet another brazen attempt by the BJP ally to exploit the sentiments of the farmers, and perhaps even to sabotage the farmers’ fight at the behest of their allies in the Central Government.

CHANDIGARH: As Covid cases in the state continue to surge, with peak projections suggesting further increase in the coming weeks, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered ramping up of facilities in the 13 districts with the maximum CFR and augmentation of medical oxygen supplies from within and outside the state to ensure that there is no shortfall of the same.

CHANDIGARH: State Vigilance Bureau today nabbed a revenue Patwari red handed while accepting bribe of Rs. 10,000.

Disclosing this here an official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said Sukhdev Singh, Revenue Patwari posted at Ram Nagar Sibian in Sangrur district was nabbed red handed by Vigilance team for accepting bribe of Rs. 10,000 from complainant Kulwinder Singh of Kamomajra Khurd, Sangrur district.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s three Government Medical Colleges will participate in the Phase 3 trials of the COVAXIN being tested by Bharat Biotech Ltd in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) against the Covid pandemic. The trials are scheduled to commence from October 15.

AMRITSAR: Taking strong exception to her ludicrous tweet, Punjab NSUI President Akshay Shamra on Tuesday declared Kangna Ranaut has crossed all limits by targeting the beleagured farmers labelling them as terrorists.

She should be shameful for what she has said but what else do you expect from her who is dancing to the tunes of anti-farmer BJP, the fiery youth leader Akshay Sharma said.

CHANDIGARH: To give impetus to industry, the procedure for Startup registrations has been further simplified in the state.

We have affected amendments in clause 16.3, 16.4, 16.5 and 16.6 of Chapter-16 of the Detailed Schemes & Operational Guidelines 2018, state Industries Minister Sunder Sham Arora said today expressing confidence that new procedure will fast-track startup applications and will enable large numbers of startups to get registered and thereafter avail incentives from the State Government.

CHANDIGARH: Showcasing their awareness graph, females of Punjab have taken more benefits of Ayushman Bharat-Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna (AB-SSBY) in comparative of males under which 51 percent females and 49 percent males have taken the benefit. This pro-people health insurance scheme is aimed to provide secondary as well as tertiary healthcare services at the doorsteps of beneficiaries through empanelled hospitals.

CHANDIGARH: The Department of School Education has now decided to conduct online monitoring of funds.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of school education department said that the department taken this decision to give further push to the campaign of Education Minister Mr. Vijay Inder Singla to bring transparency in the education department. He said that the school education department has developed a new software for monitoring the funds released by the department

CHANDIGARH: Paving the way to provide a level playing field for Basmati traders and millers from within and outside Punjab, especially in the light of the provisions of the new Agriculture Bills, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced reduction in the Market Development Fee (MDF) and the Rural Development Fee (RDF) rates, from 2% to 1% each.

CHANDIGARH: To ensure smooth and seamless procurement of Paddy during the ensuing Kharif season amid Covid-19, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced a slew of amendments to the Custom Milling Policy (CMP) 2020-21, including allowing use of miller premises as Mandi yards.

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government team led by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, held strategic discussions with industry captains and academic leaders during a virtual stakeholder consultation session for upcoming Bulk Drug Park in Bathinda in Punjab.

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an NDA ally, on Tuesday announced to undertake 'chakka jam' for three hours across Punjab on September 25 to protest against the farm bills passed by both the Houses of Parliament.

Senior leaders will lead the protests in their constituencies and district headquarters from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., SAD spokesperson and former minister Daljeet Cheema said.