Punjab's ITIs will get facelift: Harjot Singh Bains

* Cabinet Minister inks MOU with Member Rajya Sabha Dr. VikramJit Singh Sahni to adopt six technical education institutes of Punjab

* Six ITIs will become centers of excellence with cost of Rs 11 crore

* ITI Excellence Center of Ludhiana will be started in November: Harjot Singh Bains

Chandigarh, October 3:With the efforts of Technical Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, MOU signed with Rajya Sabha Member VikramJit Singh Sahni to adopt Punjab’s six Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

While giving information regarding this, Cabinet minister Harjot Singh Bains said that technical education department has continuously been taking initiatives to provide vocational training to the youth of Punjab. He added that due to some issues, the ITIs were not able to impart the modern education and to address these issues, he has coordinated with Vikramjit Singh Sahney following which a MOU has been signed to adopt 6 ITIs.

As per the MOU, Dr Sahney would spend around Rs. 11 crore on ITIs located at Patiala, Ludhiana, Manikpur Sharif in SAS Nagar, Sunam (Sangrur) and Lalru.

Mr. Bains said that these ITIs will be connected with the local industry and the institutes will ensure placements and apprenticeships of students through this industry connect.

Under this agreement, courses for air hostesses, beauty wellness and junior nurses will be initiated at Mohali ITI Women, aimed at empowering the girls of the state.

He said that these initiatives will provide employment opportunities to ten thousand youth.

S. Bains stated that the Lalru and Manakpur Sharif ITIs will be developed as drone academies, which will be counted among the country's leading institutions in the field of drone technology.

The minister said that in upcoming November, an excellence centre of ITI Ludhiana will also be launched.

Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is continuously working towards providing vocational training to the state's youth, which is exemplified by increasing the number of seats in ITIs from 28,000 to 35,000.

He added that this will not only supply skilled workers to industrial units but also help curb unemployment in the state and assist in eradicating the drug menace.

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Over 1.38 lakh government school students registered for Business Blaster Program: Harjot Singh Bains

More than 52K students shortlisted for their business idea, to be given Rs.10.41 crore as seed money

Mann Government introduced BBP in all 1920 government senior secondary schools of the state

7,813 teachers are supporting students in their endeavours

Chandigarh, 3 October:Punjab Government's Business Blasters program tasted success from government school students. Disclosing this here on Thursday, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that Punjab Government led by Bhagwant Singh Maan launched the Business Blasters program through Department of School Education, Punjab under the Young Entrepreneurs Programme Scheme, in November 2022.

Initially, the program was launched in the state with 11,041 students of 11th grade from 32 government senior secondary schools of 9 districts, which is an experiential learning program with the aim of developing entrepreneurial mindsets among Secondary level students through providing them real-world entrepreneurship experiences, supported by a seed grant of INR 2000 to each selected student.

Mr. Bains said the program is aiming to prepare Punjab’s young students as job creators and troubleshooters towards realising the dream of Making Punjab a state of Entrepreneurs.

Education minister said thet after following a selection criterion, performance of the teams were analysed and 52,050 students (now in 12th grade) from the around 7,5000 students, working on different business ideas, were shortlisted for the disbursement of seed money.

Harjot Singh Bains said that Punjab government has released the seed money of INR 10.41,00,000 to ensure that deserving students get all necessary support in experimenting and initiating their entrepreneurial journey.

As of 1st of October 2024, seed money of INR 9,38,20,000 has been credited in bank accounts of 46,910 students and the process is still going on, remaining amount will be credited in the student accounts in next couple of bank working days.

He further said that our Government has decided to implement the program at a wider scale to benefit the maximum number of students, during the academic year 2023-2024. The program has introduced in all 1920 government senior secondary schools with over 7,813 teachers and 1,83,192 students of 11th grade across all 23 districts in the state.

The program became an instant hit among students, motivating 1,38,676 students to get themselves registered for the program.

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Selection process completed for primary teachers bound for training in Finland: Harjot Singh Bains

600 educators submitted online applications for the coveted training opportunity

Chandigarh, October 3:The selection process for 72 teachers from Punjab's government primary schools, destined for international-caliber training at the University of Turku in Finland, has been successfully concluded today.

Divulging further details, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that the decision to provide primary school teachers with world-class training was taken by the Punjab government under the stewardship of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann. The selected primary teachers will undertake a comprehensive three-week training program at the University of Turku in Finland.

The Education Minister revealed, the selection process for this training opportunity was rigorous and multifaceted. The teaching methodologies of applicants were scrutinized through feedback from both their alumni and current students, as well as their parents.

He further elaborated that 600 teachers had expressed interest by applying online for the Finland training program. To verify the claims made by these teachers, approximately 6,000 parents were contacted during the vetting process. The selection committee meticulously examined the teachers' past academic results and perused their confidential annual reports.

Harjot Singh Bains asserted that the teacher selection process was conducted with utmost transparency, ensuring fairness and merit-based choices.

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PUNJAB AMONG TOP THREE IN BLOOD DONATION ACROSS INDIA

• FREE BLOOD AVAILABILITY FOR ALL PATIENTS IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS IN PUNJAB: DR BALBIR SINGH

Chandigarh, October 3:In a significant milestone, Punjab has been ranked third among all states and union territories (UTs) for its outstanding contribution to voluntary blood donation. This recognition, awarded by the Blood Transfusion Services (BTS) of the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (GoI), was presented during the prestigious India Blood Donation NGO Conclave held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in celebration of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day on October 1, 2024.

Congratulating the State Blood Transfusion Council, Punjab, for this remarkable achievement, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh stated that this recognition was for its exceptional performance in 2023-24. During this period, the council organised 11,109 blood donation camps and collected 493,000 units of blood, exceeding the Government of India's target of 460,000 units.

The award was received by Joint Director BTS/PSBTC Dr. Sunita Devi and Mr. Surinder Singh on behalf of the state.

Dr Balbir Singh also lauded the continuous efforts of the health and blood transfusion teams in ensuring a stable supply of safe blood. He also acknowledged the support and leadership of the Project Director PSACS cum Director PSBTC, Varinder Kumar Sharma for driving key initiatives and strengthening voluntary blood donation efforts across the state.

Dr Balbir Singh said that Punjab takes pride in its robust network of 182 licensed blood centers, which includes 49 Government blood centers spread across all districts, ensuring comprehensive coverage for patients in need. Among these centers, 83 are licensed Blood Component Separation Units (BCSUs) which includes 26 Government Blood Component Separation Units (BCSUs, providing access to vital blood components like PRBC, platelets and plasma, further enhancing patient care.

He said that blood is available free of cost to all patients in Punjab's public health institutions, including district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, CHCs, PHCs, and Government medical colleges, ensuring that no one is deprived of this life-saving resource.

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Punjab's Cabinet Minister (Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management, Water Supply and Sanitation and Housing and Urban Development Minister) Hardeep Singh Mundian paid a courtesy call on Dera Beas chief Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon.

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Punjab Government promoting Sports culture to produce more international players: Tarunpreet Singh Sond

- Hails CM for the welfare and upliftment of sports and sportsmen

- Attends prize distribution ceremony of Sub-Junior Hockey National Championship

Chandigarh, October 3: Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Investment Promotion, Labour, Hospitality, Industry and Commerce and Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond has praised the efforts of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for the welfare and upliftment of sports and sportsmen.

Participating as the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony of Sub-Junior Hockey National Championship at the hockey stadium in Sector 42 here, Sond said that along with other sports, the Punjab government is making special efforts for the national sport of hockey. He said that, recently 11 players of Punjab were given job letters as PCS and DSP included hockey players who have won gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy and bronze medal in the Olympic Games.

He said that Punjab had made a new sports policy in 2023 and fruitful results are coming out now. He further said that the state players are given cash for preparation for national and international competitions. Moreover, the Punjab government is also giving cash prizes to medal winner players.

Sond said that the Punjab government has distributed a total amount of Rs. 12.50 crore to 19 Punjabi athletes of the Paris Olympics during an impressive function recently. Among them, 10 players were members of the Indian hockey team that won the bronze medal.

Apart from this, the Punjab government has honored 32 Punjabi sportsmen who won medals in the Asian Games with an amount of Rs. 29 crore 25 lakhs. 136 athletes from Punjab who won medals in the National Games were also honored with a cash prize of Rs. 4 crore 58 lakh, he added.

He further said that during the last two and a half years, Mann government has distributed prize money of Rs. 88 crore to the state players.

He said that sports culture is being promoted in the state to produce more international level players. Every year, Punjab Govt. is organising 'Khedan watan Punjab Diyan' to produce more national and international players. The third season is currently underway. He said that nearly 4.5 lakh players had participated in the second season of Khedan watan Punjab diyan. Rs. 8.69 crores were transferred online to around 11,000 winning players. Sond encouraged boys and girls of Punjab to participate in sports.