*SANJEEV ARORA SWORN IN AS CABINET MINISTER OF PUNJAB*
*CM CONGRATULATES THE NEW MINISTER*
Chandigarh, July 3:The Punjab Governor and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sanjeev Arora as Cabinet Minister of the state in a brief but impressive ceremony here at Punjab Raj Bhawan in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that Chief Secretary KAP Sinha conducted the proceedings of the ceremony with the permission of the Governor. After being sworn in Sanjeev Arora signed the oath, which was counter signed by the Governor.
Prominent amongst others present at the swearing-in included Cabinet Ministers Harpal Cheema, Harjot Bains, Dr. Balbir Singh, Dr. Baljit Kaur, Hardeep Singh Mundian , Mohinder Bhagat, Dr. Ravjot Singh, Barinder Goyal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Gurmeet Singh Khudian and others were present on this occasion.
Several MLAs, party leaders, senior officers from civil and police administration and family members of the newly inducted minister also attended the event.
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Ensure foolproof arrangements by September 15th in view of upcoming paddy procurement season: Lal Chand Kataruchak
No officer should proceed on Ex India leave from September 15th to November 15th, directs Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister
Preparations on war footing for procuring 190 Lakh Metric Tonne paddy
Chandigarh, July 3:Exhorting the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department to gear up for ensuring a smooth and hassle free paddy procurement season from October 1st till November 15th this year, the Minister incharge of the Department Lal Chand Kataruchak today directed that all the necessary arrangements and mechanism must be put in place by September 15th.
Taking stock of the procurement arrangements during a review meeting at Anaj Bhawan, the Minister further gave instructions that during the period from September 15th to November 15th, no officer of the department should proceed on Ex India leave.
The Minister was apprised that preparations on war footing are being made for procuring 190 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) paddy and as regards the movement of rice to create more storage space, 68 LMT of rice has been moved out of the State from October 2024 till June 2025. Further, from August 2025 till June 2026 nearly 82.5 LMT of rice would be moved out at the rate of 7.5 LMT Per Month.
It was also brought to the notice of the Minister that the draft of the Custom Milling Policy for the year 2025-26 is likely to be ready within this month. Apart from this, the Labour & Cartege policy 2024 along with Foodgrain Transportation Policy 2024 has been extended till September 30th, 2025 so as to ensure a successful paddy procurement season.
On the quality aspect, the Minister was apprised that the services of the laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing end Calibration Laboratories (NABL) are availed for chemical testing of the foodgrains as per the FCI norms.
The Minister also directed the officers that the tarpaulins, wooden crates, Bardana and the mesh nets must be arranged in required quantity with emphasis on quality.
Regarding the e-KYC process, the Minister was informed that it has been completed with regard to 1.25 Crore beneficiaries out of 1.57 Crore and the people are being made aware that they must undergo the process in order to get ration under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
Urging the wholehearted cooperation of all the stakeholders to make the upcoming procurement season successful, the Minister said that no laxity in this regard shall be tolerated.
Among others present on the occasion included the Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rahul Tiwari, Director Varinder Kumar Sharma, Additional Secretary PUNGRAIN Kamal Kumar Garg, MD Punjab State Warehousing Corporation Vineet Kumar, Additional Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar and GM (Finance) Sarvesh Kumar.
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DAY 124 OF YUDH NASHIAN VIRUDH: 107 DRUG SMUGGLERS HELD WITH 1.2KG HEROIN, ₹22K
— AS PART OF ‘DE-ADDICTION’, PUNJAB POLICE CONVINCE 71 PERSONS TO UNDERGO DE-ADDICTION TREATMENT
CHANDIGARH, July 3:With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state completed 124 days, Punjab Police on Thursday arrested 107 drug smugglers and recovered 1.2 kg heroin and Rs 21,980 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 20,287 in just 124 days.
The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.
Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.
Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 220 Police teams, comprising over 1500 police personnel, under the supervision of 100 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 495 locations across the state leading to the registration of 78 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 506 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.
The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 71 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.
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JASVIR SINGH GARHI EMBARKS ON FOREIGN VISIT
Chandigarh, July 3:Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman S. Jasvir Singh Garhi has embarked on a month-long personal visit to New Zealand, combining personal travel with mission-oriented activities.
According to a spokesperson, during his stay in New Zealand, S. Jasvir Singh Garhi will actively promote and disseminate the transformative ideology of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the visionary principles of Sahib Sri Kanshi Ram Ji among the community.
The Chairman is scheduled to return to India in the first week of August and will subsequently resume his official responsibilities at the Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission.
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MRSAFPI’S STELLAR FEAT: 21 CADETS JOIN NDA & OTHER DEFENCE ACADEMIES
•276 cadets inducted into prestigious Defence Training Academies so far, says Director Chauhan
Chandigarh, July 3:In a remarkable feat, the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (MRSAFPI), SAS Nagar (Mohali) sent 21 cadets to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and other prestigious defence training academies in just three weeks. This impressive achievement adds to the institute's illustrious legacy, with a total of 276 cadets having been inducted into various defence training academies since its inception.
Sharing this today, Director MRSAFPI Major General Ajay H. Chauhan, VSM, (Retd) informed that a total of 18 cadets joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) for its-154 Course, including Aryan Sofeth and Ojas Gaint from Patiala, Anhad Singh Khatumria, Armaanvir Singh Adhi, Harkanwal Singh, Prjveer Singh and Aditya Mishra from Mohali, Bhavik Kansal from Sangrur, Mohanpreet Singh, Balraj Singh Heera and Ishaan Sharma from Ropar, Ranbir Singh and Ishmeet Singh from Bathinda, Samarvir Singh Heer and Nimit Soni from Jalandhar, Manjot Singh from Gurdaspur, Udhaybir Singh Nanda and Gurvanshbir Singh from Tarn Taran.
Additionally, Cadet Gagandeep Singh from Kapurthala joined the Cadet Training Wing of College of Military Engineering (CME) Pune for the Technical Entry Scheme (TES)-53 Course, while Cadets Arshdeep Singh from Gurdaspur and Karan Kaushish from Mohali joined the Air Force Academy for the 218 Course, he added.
While congratulating the cadets for joining the training academies, the Director Chauhan stated that some cadets of the Institute are still awaiting their joining letters and the Institute remains committed to becoming the primary feeder institution for the Armed Forces. Wishing the cadets success in their training, he urged them to work diligently while striving to become exemplary officers who bring pride to Punjab and the nation.
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Mohinder Bhagat Reviews PESCO Operations: Employment of Ex-Servicemen Remains Key Focus
Chandigarh, July 3-Defence Services Welfare Minister Mohinder Bhagat has directed officers to take concrete steps to strengthen the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO) to better serve ex-servicemen and their families.
Chairing a review meeting at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Minister assessed PESCO’s operational framework, financial health, and employee welfare measures. A major part of the discussions revolved around enhancing employment opportunities for ex-servicemen through PESCO.
Managing Director, PESCO, Major General Harmandeep Singh (Retd), and General Manager (Security), SP Singh, apprised the Minister of the Corporation’s ongoing programs. Three-month progress report was also submitted during the meeting. Key topics included the salary structure of security guards, proposals to enhance their wages under the special category, and the streamlined appointment process for ex-servicemen in various roles.
Minister Mohinder Bhagat reaffirmed the Punjab Government’s commitment to reinforcing PESCO's role in ex-servicemen welfare. He assured that necessary steps would be taken to address financial issues, increase the age limit for services by ex-servicemen.
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767 farmers commit suicide in just three months in Maharashtra, Speaker says it is very unfortunate and painful
Chandigarh 3 July 2025:Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan highlighted that 767 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra in just three months. We can say that approximate eight suicide committed by farmers per day which is very unfortunate and painful. This is not just suicide of Andata, it is complete failure of our system
He stressed that only 376 farmers families got Government help and remaining families got nothing even after death. Those who promised to double farmers income, but they are not able to protect farmers precious lives.
Speaker Sandhwan appealed to Government of India and Government of Maharashtra to take appropriate steps to improve the financial condition of farmers and also provide financial assistance to the bereaved families. He said there is a dire need to review the present agricultural model as so many farmers are committing suicide and Government of India is not providing accurate data pertaining to suicide of farmers.