Punjab News

Chandigarh, February 21, 2025:           The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, has arrested a Junior Engineer (JE) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Manoj Kumar, red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.           Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB stated that the case was registered based on a complaint filed by a resident of New Amar Nagar, Daba, Ludhiana. The complainant, who runs a welding shop, stated that his wife had purchased a two-story house at New Amar Nagar where he intended to set up a small factory on the ground floor, requiring a 10 KW commercial electricity meter...

Chandigarh, February 20           Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-Committee formed to resolve employee issues, directed the School Education Department to include members of the Officers Committee formed by the department to regularize employees, in the Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting on February 27. This decision aims to expedite the resolution of demands made by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Samgra) Mid-Day Meal Daftri Mulazam Union.           The Cabinet Sub-Committee, which comprises Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, issued these directives during meetings with representatives of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Samgr...

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, February 20:           Acting swiftly on forward-backward linkages in the 10 kg heroin recovery case, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar has arrested one more drug smuggler and recovered 3 kg of heroin from his possession, taking the total seizure in the case to 13 kg, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.           The arrested accused has been identified as Lovepreet Singh, a resident of Main Bazar in Attari, Amritsar.           The development came a day after the Punjab Police had busted a cross-border drug smuggling racket with the arrest of a drug smuggler identified as Harmandeep Sin...

Chandigarh, February 19: Carrying forward the policy aimed at proper upkeep of the wildlife in the State with renewed vigour, the Forests and Wildlife Preservation Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak today released two Little tiger cubs from the Intensive Care  into the 'Kraal' (Semi Open Enclosure) at the Chhatbir Zoo. It is noteworthy that the mating of white tigress Gauri and Yellow tiger Arjun resulted in the birth of Abhay and Aryan at Diwali night 12 PM on October 31st, 2024. These two tiger cubs are healthy and would be released in the enclosure for viewing by common people after one more vaccine dose. The Minister also inaugurated various projects on the occasion. These comprise the new building of the veterinary hospital after the old one,  office of the Senior Veter...

Chandigarh/Udaipur, February 19: Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Hardip Singh Mundian has demanded immediate release of pending funds to the tune of Rs. 111.13 Crore for Punjab under Jal Jeevan Mission so that the prestigious projects started to provide canal water to villages affected by water quality can be completed on time. Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil gave assurance of early release. Mr. Mundian was addressing a two-day conference on ‘India 2047: A Water Secure Nation’ being held in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He said that the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led State Government is making continuous efforts to provide clean drinking water to the people of the state and has achieved major goals in this direction. Mr. Mundian, while mentioning the challenges fac...

Chandigarh, February 19: Continuing mission rozgar, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday handed over appointment letters for government jobs to 497 youth thereby setting a new milestone by illuminating the lives of 50,892 families in the last around three years after assuming the charge of office. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister handed over letters to youth in the Water supply and Sanitation department, School Education department, Higher Education and Languages, Rural Development and Science, Technology and Environment. Addressing the gathering here at the Municipal Bhawan, the Chief Minister said that it is a momentous occasion when these youth are becoming the part of the family of Punjab government. He expressed hope that these youth will become an activ...

Chandigarh, February 18:  The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is geared up to conduct its annual board examinations for Classes 8th, 10th, and 12th, with over 8.82 lakh students are expected to appear. The exams will be held across 2579 centers established statewide, ensuring a smooth and organized process.  Disclosing this here today, Punjab School Education Minister S. Harjot Singh Bains, announced the exam schedule. He said that the Class 8 board exams will begin on Wednesday (February 19), followed by the Class 12 exams starting on February 24. Similarly, the Class 10 examinations are scheduled to commence in March, he added.  He further said that a total of 3,02,189 students of class 8th will appear for the exam, while 2,84,658 students will appear for ...

Chandigarh, February 18 Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the Excise and Taxation Department has conducted targeted GST registration drives to broaden the GST tax base, resulting in the addition of 46,338 new taxpayers in 2023-24 and approximately 33,000 new taxpayers up to December 2024. He said that a statewide campaign has also been launched to educate taxpayers on filing procedures, ITC claims, and compliance benefits. Revealing this in a press communiqué issued here, the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the State GST department initiated another GSTR registration drive in January 2025, visiting approximately 48,000 new dealers and successfully registering around 10,500 eligible dealers across Pu...

Chandigarh, February 17 The Government of Punjab has posted Mr. G. Nageswara Rao, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1995 batch, as the Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau. Mr. Rao was currently serving as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Provisioning, Punjab. According to information shared by the Spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau, Mr. Rao will be taking over the reins from Special Director General of Police Mr. Varinder Kumar, an IPS officer of the 1993 batch. Mr. Varinder Kumar has been relieved from the charge of Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau and will report to the Director General of Police, Punjab, Chandigarh, for further duties. It is pertinent to mention here that Mr. G. Nageswara Rao brings with him a wealth of experience, ha...

Chandigarh, February 17: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday called upon the newly inducted officers of the Punjab Civil Service (PCS) to discharge their duty with utmost dedication, commitment and integrity so that the benefits of flagship schemes of the state government are further percolated to people at grass root level. The newly promoted PCS officers from A II and C register called on the Chief Minister here at his official residence. Interacting with the officers, the Chief Minister, while congratulating the officers, said that it is a matter of immense pride that they have selected for this coveted post adding that they should serve the people with missionary zeal. Bhagwant Singh Mann hoped that the PCS Officers will use their pen for helping the needy and ...