Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Emphasises CSR as Capital Small Finance Bank Donates Rs 31 Lakh to CM's Rangla Punjab Fund

Chandigarh, December 2-Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday underscored the vital importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), asserting that every corporate entity must undertake CSR activities to be fully accountable for its impact on society. The Finance Minister made these remarks while formally receiving a substantial donation for the Chief Minister's Rangla Punjab Fund.

The contribution, a cheque of Rs 31 lakh, was handed over to the Finance Minister by Sarvjit Singh Samra, Managing Director and CEO of Capital Small Finance Bank. Finance Minister Cheema lauded the Bank for its generous donation, commending their commitment to social accountability.

Highlighting the crucial purpose behind the fund, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the funds being donated to the Chief Minister's Rangla Punjab Fund are being utilised specifically to provide support to the families across the state that have been affected by the worst floods this year. He said that this significant contribution from Capital Small Finance Bank will directly aid the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts for these families.

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Vigilance Bureau nabs Rent Collector red handed accepting bribe of Rs 3 lakh

Chandigarh 2 December, 2025-The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its drive against corruption in the state, nabbed Mohammad Iqbal, Rent Collector posted at Punjab Wakf Board Zira, district Ferozepur red handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs. 3,00,000/- as second installment.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said that the complainant was a resident of Gurudwara Singh Sabha Zira, district Ferozepur. He informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the accused rent collector was demanding a bribe of Rs. 5,40,000/- to be given to the senior official for giving possession of land allotted by Wakf Board Zira to the complainant. In this regard, accused already had taken a partial bribe of Rs 70,000/- as token money from the complainant as first instalment.

He revealed that the complainant had already paid the government fees of Rs. 2.98 lakh through cheques in the name of Waqf Board Zira, including rent amount of the property to be taken on lease from the Waqf Board Zira and these cheques have been recovered by the VB team during the raid from the office of accused rent collector Mohammad Iqbal.

The spokesperson further said that after a preliminary enquiry of this complaint a VB team from economic offences wing (EOW) laid a trap during which the accused was arrested while he was accepting bribe of Rs 3,00,000/- as second installment from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case has been registered against the accused under prevention of corruption act at VB police station EOW, Ludhiana range and further investigation into this case was under process, he added.

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PUNJAB HEALTH MINISTER CALLS FOR UNITED FIGHT AGAINST FEMALE FOETICIDE, SETS TARGET TO SURPASS NATIONAL AVERAGE IN SEX RATIO BY NEXT YEAR

— Dr Balbir Singh orders Strict Vigil to Protect the Girl Child, Stresses Enforcement of PC–PNDT Act

— “Saving the Daughter Is Our Responsibility”: Health Minister Leads State-Level Workshop on PC-PNDT Act in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH, December 2:In a move to further intensify efforts to curb female foeticide, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Tuesday set an ambitious target for the state to surpass the national average in improving the sex ratio by next year.

The Health Minister, while chairing a state-level capacity building workshop on Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PC–PNDT) in Chandigarh, called upon all Civil Surgeons and healthcare workers right up to ASHA workers, for constant vigilance, to monitor pregnancies and prevent this unethical practice. He exhorted health officials to ensure active tracking of every pregnant woman and said there cannot be a worse crime than killing a girl child.

Highlighting the significance of the PC-PNDT Act— which was enacted in 1994 and strengthened in 2003 to prevent the misuse of medical technology for sex determination, the Minister stressed that the law is effective only when society stands behind it. He reminded participants that no person is allowed to seek the sex of an unborn child and no doctor or clinic is permitted to disclose it, adding that any such act is severe crime and carries strict penalties, including imprisonment and cancellation of licences.

Dr Balbir Singh expressed concern that Punjab had historically faced a worrying imbalance between the number of boys and girls, fuelled by social discrimination, regressive mindsets and the inhuman practice of female foeticide. He noted that due to strict enforcement of the law, targeted monitoring, raids, registration systems and sustained awareness campaigns under the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government Government, the situation has begun to improve. Citing the Civil Registration System, he shared that Punjab’s sex ratio at birth improved from 906 females per 1000 males in 2021–22 to 922 in 2023 and 921 in 2024, reflecting a 16-point rise due to coordinated efforts across the state.

The Minister informed that Punjab currently has 2,092 registered ultrasound centres, which were inspected 2,703 times during 2025–26, and that show-cause notices were issued to 13 centres where discrepancies were found. He shared that 63 meetings of the District Advisory Committees were held to ensure vigilance and transparency in implementation.

He reiterated that ultrasound centres violating the provisions of the PC–PNDT Act will face strict action, ranging from licence cancellation to legal penalties. Stressing that maternal diagnostic services have now been made easily accessible at primary-level institutions such as Aam Aadmi Clinics, he said this expansion strengthens the state’s ability to monitor pregnancies more effectively.

Calling for societal transformation, Dr Balbir Singh said the birth of a daughter must be celebrated and her education, progress and safety must be treated as collective responsibilities. He urged communities to showcase girl achievers as role models to inspire change. “A girl is not merely a gender—she is the honour of a family, the soul of society and the pride of humanity,” he said, adding that even thinking of harming a girl child in the womb disturbs not just a family but the balance of the entire society.

He emphasised that campaigns like Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao and the PC–PNDT Act form the backbone of a socially progressive future and the true purpose of today’s workshop is to ignite a change in mindset.

Dr Balbir Singh honoured the districts with an improved sex ratio and urged everyone present to take a collective pledge that they will neither seek nor allow anyone to seek the sex of an unborn child, that they will not discriminate between boys and girls in any form, and that they will play an active role in spreading awareness and building a people’s movement to completely eliminate female foeticide from Punjab.

Director PC-PNDT MoHFW GoI Dr Indranil Das, Advocate PC-PNDT Ifat Hamid and Program Management Specialist UNFPA Anuja Gulati trained the participants on various aspects of the PC-PNDT act.

Special Secretary cum MD NHM Ghanshyam Thori, Director Health and Family Welfare Dr Hitinder Kaur, Deputy Director Dr Navjot Kaur, Assistant Director Dr Harpreet Kaur and Program Officer Dr Arti were also present in the workshop.

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