CAPT AMARINDER ORDERS PHASED FILLING UP OF 1.2 LAKH GOVT JOB VACANCIES, WITH CRITICAL NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN 1ST STAGE

Chandigarh, January 1, 2019: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered filling up of the 1.2 lakh vacant posts in various government departments in a phased but focused manner, addressing the critical requirements of departments of Health, Education and Medical Education & Research in the first phase.
The directives came during a high-level meeting to review the progress of the state government’s flagship Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission scheme.
The Chief Minister has asked Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh to work out the modalities for filling up the government vacancies. The Chief Secretary has been directed to hold a meeting of Administrative Secretaries to work out the requirement of posts to be filled in the various departments in the Officers’ Committee headed by him, an official spokesperson disclosed after the review meet.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister underscored the need for better coordination and synergy between the Skill Development Mission and the Department of Employment Generation & Training (DEGT) to bridge the gap between skill training and job profile.
Captain Amarinder Singh called for more special technical training and vocational guidance programmes to equip the local youth to be gainfully employed in the domestic industry, and asked the Commissioner Employment Generation and Training to devise special training modules in sync with the Skill Development Mission for imparting result-oriented training to both the semi-skilled and the unskilled, in line with the emerging requirements of the job market.
Technical Education & Employment Generation Minister Charanjit Singh Channi apprised the meeting that 30,000 youth had applied for placements in foreign companies during the ‘Overseas Employment Camp’ organised by DEGT. Several foreign companies participated in the camp to select aspirants for 5000 job openings, but only around 500 were selected, which showed that there was a gap between the skill training and the job qualification of the candidates.
Acceding to a demand raised by the Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh directed the Finance Department to immediately release funds to the tune of Rs. 5 Crores for execution of various schemes and projects under ‘Punjab Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission’ and make a budgetary provision of Rs. 23 Crores in the next fiscal.
The Chief Minister also asked Secretary Technical Education & Employment Generation D K Tewari to explore the possibility of utilising funds of the Punjab Technical University and Punjab Technical Education Board for financing various employment generation and training initiatives of the government. The Chief Minister also gave the nod to holding a state level mega job fair in February.
The Chief Minister was also informed that 4.53 lakh youths had been provided various jobs under the government’s ambitious ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar & Karobar Mission’ till now. Of these 37,000 youths had got jobs with the government, 1.30 lakh with the private sector and 2.86 lakhs were provided help under various self employment schemes.
Commissioner Employment Generation & Training Rahul Tiwari informed the Chief Minister that a dedicated foreign employment & foreign study facilitation desk would be made functional soon to facilitate the process. A Punjab Job Helpline and a full-fledged digital & social media platform will also be launched to ensure maximum outreach amongst job seekers, he added.
Others present in the meeting included Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Special Principal Secretary to CM Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and Additional Principal Secretary to CM Girish Dyalan.

CONG WIN IN PANCHAYAT POLLS VICTORY OF DEMOCRACY & VINDICATION OF HIS GOVT’S POLICIES, SAYS CAPT AMARINDER
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday hailed the sweeping Congress victory in the just concluded Panchayat polls in the state as a victory of democracy and a clear vindication of his government’s policies.
The Chief Minister also congratulated the people of Punjab for ensuring a largely peaceful poll, in which a whopping 80.38% of the total 12,787,395 eligible voters exercised their franchise – a record for the state.
Of the 13,276 booths in which polling was held, repoll has been declared in a mere 14, the Chief Minister pointed out, lauding the security forces for maintaining law and order during the elections despite attempts by the opposition to trigger trouble.
Undeterred by the false propaganda unleashed by the Opposition parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), against the Congress government, the voters came out in large numbers without fear to cast their votes in favour of his party’s candidates, said Captain Amarinder Singh. This shows that the disillusionment of the electorate with the SAD and other opposition parties, including the BJP and AAP, was complete, said the Chief Minister, adding that the people of Punjab were no longer willing to be misled by the canards being spread by these parties.
The wave in favour of the Congress, which started in Punjab with the Assembly polls held last year and was manifest in the recent elections in various states across the country, was evidently going strong, till the lowest rung of the democratic ladder, the Chief Minister said.
The Panchayat polls indicated the palpable pro-Congress mood in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, said the Chief Minister, expressing the confidence that his party would win the parliamentary polls too hands down. The people of Punjab had seen the development and progress of the past 21 months, since the Congress government took over, as against the utter ruination into which the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime had plunged the state during 10 years of their misrule, said Captain Amarinder Singh.
The negative campaigning of the opposition, which was clearly bereft of any positive agenda, had also contributed to the Congress victory in the Panchayat elections, and would continue to stand the party in good stead in the LS polls, he added.
Of the 13,175 Sarpanches announced elected so far, 11241 belong to the Congress, with SAD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for only 981 and 100 respectively. Other smaller parties and independents accounted for 813 of the elected Sarpanches.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has suffered another ignominious electoral defeat, indicating that it had become completely irrelevant and was a non-entity in Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh pointed out.

Final publication of voter list on January 19
Chandigarh: The Election Commission of India has issued a letter to extend the date of final publication of voter list to January 19, 2019.
Disclosing this, a spokesman of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab said that earlier the date for final publication of voter list with respect to January 1, 2019 as qualifying date was scheduled to be on 04 January 2019 (Friday), but due to the revised programme, the final Publication has been slated for January 19, 2019 (Saturday).

Punjab Government releases Rs. 35 crore to cooperative sugar mills towards payment of sugarcane dues
Chandigarh, January 1:
The Punjab Government has released Rs. 35 crore to the cooperative sugar mills of the state towards the payment for sugarcane dues pertaining to year 2017-18 and the same have been credited into the accounts of the sugarcane farmers. The cooperative sugar mills had dues amounting to Rs. 182.26 crore pending towards the government as of 31.12.2018 out of which now Rs. 151.82 crore remain due after the payment of Rs. 35 crore today. Out of these Rs. 151.82 crore, a sum of Rs.65 crore has been released by the Punjab Rural Development Board which would be payed soon. This was disclosed here today by the Cooperation Minister, Punjab, S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The minister further said that during the crushing season 2018-19, the cooperative sugar mills have crushed 66.44 lakh quintals of sugarcane till 31.12.2018. It’s on date recovery is 10.37 percent and to date recovery is 9.36 percent with production of 5,98,050 quintal sugar. The minister also added that during the crushing season 2018-19, the cooperative sugar mills have paid up Rs. 120.59 crore at their own level out of Rs. 205.86 crore which was the due price for the sugarcane purchased till 31.12.2018. Uptill now, the payment of sugarcane has been made upto 58 percent.

CAPT AMARINDER RELEASES PUNJAB GOVT’S 2019 CALENDAR & DIARY, DEDICATED TO GURU NANAK’S 550TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
Chandigarh: Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday released the Punjab Government’s 2019 calendar and diary, dedicated to the 550th Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The calendar carries the picture of the first Sikh Guru, along with the images of the historic Gurdwara Sri Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Sri Ber Sahib at Sultanpur Lodhi, connected with the life and times of the great Guru.
The layout and design of the calendar and diary have been conceptualized and prepared by the Information & Public Relations Department and printed by the Controller Printing & Stationery Punjab, according to an official spokesperson.
Earlier, the Chief Minister extended his warm greetings to the staff of the CMO during an informal meeting with them at the Punjab Civil Secretariat. He wished them and their families a happy and prosperous new year. Lauding the employees for their hard work and dedication in forwarding the government’s pro- people initiatives, Captain Amarinder Singh exhorted them to discharge their duties efficaciously in the larger public interest.
Accompanied by his Media Advisor Raveen Thukral and Advisor BIS Chahal, the Chief Minister also visited the offices of his Cabinet colleagues, including Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Transport Minister Aruna Choudhary, Higher Education Minister Razia Sultana, Revenue Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Industries & Commerce Minister Sunder Sham Arora, Food & Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and wished them a Happy New Year.
The Chief Minister also met Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh in the latter’s office and extended warm New Year greetings to him. He later interacted with the employees of the Personnel branch and wished them a prosperous new year. Urging them to work even harder to complement the government’s efforts in fulfilling the aspirations of the people, especially the underprivileged and downtrodden sections of society, Captain Amarinder Singh asked them to play a proactive role in implementing the development oriented policies of state government for the benefit of the people. He also assured the employees of early redressal of their pending demands.

Others present on the occasion were Cabinet Ministers Navjot Singh Sidhu, Charanjit Singh Channi and Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, besides Secretary Information and Public Relations Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Director Information and Public Relations Anindita Mitra, and Additional Director PR Senu Duggal.

PUNJAB GETS ‘JAIVIK INDIA AWARD’ FOR PROMOTING ORGANIC FARMING
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Punjab honoured as second best state amongst states of north and north-east India for extensive promotion and implementation of organic farming and bagged prestigious 'Jaivik India Award'.
The Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Suresh Prabhu conferred the coveted 'Jaivik India Award' upon the state, which was received by Managing Director Punjab Agro Sibin C, IAS in a function held here at Delhi.
The function was organised by International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) with support from Government of Karnataka.
Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of Agriculture Department said that Punjab has been chosen under the category of Jaivik India Award of Best State Government/Agency represented by Punjab Agro in recognition with its concerted efforts for implementation of programmes to promote organic farming and support organic farmers in the state, next to North Eastern state of Manipur.
The states were selected on the recommendations of 15 members jury, which include eminent personalities from organic programme of Ministry of Agriculture and National Centre of Organic Farming, pioneers and experts of Agriculture Universities, organic industries and big retail chains, organic exporters and official members from International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement.
The spokesperson further pointed out that Punjab Government through Punjab Agri Export Corporation (PAGREXCO), a mandated agency, is implementing the Organic Programme by providing institutional support to the organic farmers of the state under various GOI schemes. He said that in addition to supplying Organic inputs, experts team undertakes training, on bio-input production, organic crop practices and, hand holding of the farmers for the Organic farm management as per Organic standards. He said that Punjab Agro was helping the farmers in the marketing of their produce by purchasing Organic Wheat, Basmati Rice, Maize and other crops from them at remunerative prices after certification for selling the same in India and abroad. He said that Punjab had already successfully brought 8000 acres with 2100 farmers under certified Organic production. More farmers are joining
Punjab Agro has now started processing the certified organic produce of the farmers in Certified Organic processing units and has come out with various products under the brand name “FIVE RIVERS”. For Promotion and Marketing of the Organic products the Organic Huts are being setup in all the districts of the state as well as in other states and the National capital, he added.
Prominent amongst those present in the function included Agriculture Minister of Karnataka NH Shivashankara Reddy, Secretary Agriculture GoI Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary Agriculture Karnataka Maheswar Rao and Agriculture Commissioner Karnataka Dr. KG Jagdesha.

NATIONAL LIVESTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP-2019 TO BE HELD AT CHAPPAR CHIRI FROM 1 TO 4 FEBRUARY: BALBIR SINGH SIDHU
Chandigarh: The National Livestock Championship and Expo – 2019 will be organized from 1 to 4 February 2019 at Chappar Chiri in district SAS Nagar, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu announced on Tuesday.
The event to be held in the first week of February in collaboration with Chamber of Commerce and Industry Department would have Horse games relay, Dog show, Show Jumping, Tent Pegging competition among the major highlights.
Underscoring the significance of the competition, Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu stated that the ensuing event would provide a platform to the farming community to interact among themselves and take fullest advantage of techniques employed in different regions.
Animal Husbandry Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu further said that apart from Punjab, animal rearers from Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will participate in this Livestock championship. He said that this championship, which has been started from the district level, has not only achieved the popularity of national level while it would be also attracted from the representatives from foreign who will take part in this livestock championship in next month.
The high breed competitions of buffalo, cows and goats would be held in phase manner in the four-day National Livestock Championships and the winners would be honoured with cash prizes and mementos, the Minister added.
He said that competition of horses, buffaloes, cows, sheep, goats, dogs, turkeys and hens will also be held in this national level championship. It was a fascinating fact that the demand for livestock animals of the winners often increases substantially, thereby increasing their earnings too.
He said that considering the trend of dog canals in the state, we will also organize a dog show as well as breed competition. For the first time in this championship, for the sake of motivating the youth to sports, Kabaddi matches will be played between Punjab and Haryana teams.
In order to make this event more colourful, cultural and folk arts will be showcased for the visitors. He said that Nihang Singhs will captivate the audiences with their show horse riding, dressing, and other martial arts skills besides jawans of PAP entertaining the audience with the daredevil motor bikes stunts. He said that the winners will be rewarded with prizes on February 4, 2019.
Director Animal Husbandry Dr. Inderjit Singh said that six seminars will be conducted in the four days Livestock Championships including animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries, food and fodder and animal related subjects will be covered and experts will share their expertise with the visiting farmers.