CABINET GIVES NOD TO AMEND PUNJAB MEDICAL REGISTRATION ACT

APPROVES REFUND OF ARREARS OF REVISED POWER TARIFF IN THE POWER BILLS FROM APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 2010

CHANDIGARH MARCH 27:

The Council of Ministers today gave approval to amend the Punjab Medical Registration Act, 1916 to make it far more relevant and broad based in the present context.    

A decision to this effect was taken here at a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal this afternoon. 

Disclosing this here today a spokesman of the Punjab Government said that the Act to be known as Punjab Medical Registration (1st Amendment 2010) would allow the Punjab Medical Council to have 21 members instead of earlier 11 members included President and Vice President.  The term of the council would now be increased from three years to five years.  

The Council of Ministers also approved the refund of arrears on account of revised power tariff for the year 2009-10 for a period of six months.  These would be adjusted in the power bills from April 2010 to September 2010. 

The Council of Ministers also approved the ex-post facto grant of government guarantee of Rs.900 crore and 750 crore allowed to Punjab state Electricity Board by the Finance Department for the month of February and March 2010 for raising short term loan. 

The Cabinet also gave approval for providing government guarantee of balance Rs.4169 crore for raising Short Term Loan for a mix tenure of 1/3/5 years during the calendar year 2010 to repay the Short Term Loans already raised against government guarantee, besides providing additional guarantee equal to the amount of government loan recalled or to be recalled in 2010.  Apart from this the Council of Ministers also allowed the PSEB to decide the amount of loan to be raised during any particular month and tenure of the loan depending upon the requirement of funds and prevalent market conditions subject to the maximum of Rs.5819 crore plus loan amount recalled in 2010. The Cabinet also gave approval for exemption of guarantee fee for providing the above government guarantee on loan to be raised by PSEB.

The Council of Ministers also approved to constitute a Cabinet Sub Committee for taking all decisions regarding the important issues related to the Civil Aviation Department under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister.  The other members of the committee would be State Finance Minister and the Civil Aviation Minister besides the officials of the department as required.  …

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BADAL GREETS PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF MAHAVIR JAYANTI

 CHANDIGARH MARCH 27:

Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today extended his warm greetings to the people of the State on the sacred occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.

In a message the Chief Minister called upon the different sections of the society to follow the philosophy and teachings of Lord Mahavir, who preached the principles of simple living and high thinking to achieve the ultimate goal of salvation. Mr. Badal said that the message of Lord Mahavir for universal brotherhood, communal harmony and peace was even far more relevant in the present materialistic society.

The Chief Minister appealed the people to follow the path shown by Lord Mahavir and celebrate this auspicious occasion in unison and with religious fervour to further strengthen the secular and social fabric of our society.

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Additional Rs. 1300.08 crore is expected from consumers due to increase in tariffs during the year 2009-10

Sukhpal Singh Khaira)                                             

Dated:- 27-03-2010

MLA Bholath

If the Chief Minister can cheat and hoodwink its own alliance partner BJP over his promised roll back of power tariff hike, what do the people of Punjab expect of him? While replying to Congress MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu’s question on roll back of power tariff hike in the Vidhan Sabha, the CM has stated that an additional Rs. 1300.08 crore is expected from consumers due to increase in tariffs during the year 2009-10. The reply also states that no instructions regarding roll back have been issued yet.

To refresh people’s memory, a deadlock had occurred between the BJP and the Govt. over increase in power tariff April 2009 particularly for urban consumers. This deadlock continued for months together with the BJP Ministers even boycotting cabinet meetings, finally after marathon sittings it was decided that the hike in power tariff for domestic and industrial consumers would be withdrawn and those having paid bills would be refunded.

The congress party questions the credibility of both Mr. Badal for not honouring his promise to none other but his alliance partners who are instrumental in sustaining a minority Akal Govt. and also what face will the BJP show the people of Punjab for having failed to get its own alliance partners to stand by a public commitment.

The fact of the matter is that the alliance between the SAD and the BJP is nothing but an opportunist marriage of convenience without any principles or understanding based on issues. It is an alliance to grab power and then share the spoils of power, that is why all important trades of transport, cable network, sand quarrying, bulk liquor have been hijacked by this unholy alliance.

The congress party demands immediate roll back of hiked power tariff as promised by the CM last year, it also urges the BJP to show some courage to withdraw support to the Akali’s for backing out of their promise.

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PUNJAB GOVERNMENT ISSUES PUNJAB STATE DEVELOPMENT LOAN

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 26:

The outstanding balance of 10.52 percent Punjab State Development Loan 2010 issued in terms of the State government vide notification no.7/1/2010-2FBII/248 dated 25.03.2010 would be repaid on 24.04.2010 (April 25,2010 being holiday)  with interest due up to and  including 24.4.2010.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab Government said that in the event of a holiday being declared on the aforesaid date by State Government under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, the loan would be repaid by the paying offices on the previous working day. No interest would accrue on the loan from and after 25.04.2010, he added.

He also said that to facilitate repayment on the due date, holders of 10.52 percent Punjab State Development Loan, 2010 should tender their securities at the Public Debt Office 20 days in advance.

It should be particularly noted, said the spokesman, that at places where the treasury work was done by a branch of the State Bank of India or any of its associate banks, the securities, if they were in the form of Stock Certificates, should be tendered at the branch of the bank concerned and not at the Treasury or Sub-Treasury. 

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CII proposes roadmap for development of Green and Educated Northern India

Roadmap for industrialisation of Northern India should be in tune with an effective delivery mechanism of skilled manpower and environmental consciousness, outlines the Confederation of Indian Industry, Northern Region.

According to a study conducted by CII and KPMG, the north Indian states should focus on education development standards  to ensure that  the working-age population meets the emerging global demands. This would be instrumental in transforming India into ‘Knowledge Superpower’. Currently the region trails the western and southern regions of the country significantly, with an overall literacy rate of 60 percent as against 69 percent and 71 percent in the South and the West. Therefore, the education and skill infrastructure in the region needs to be upgraded.

The demographic data suggests that about 106 million people in the age group of 15-24 years would be in North India by 2016. This implies that about 33.4 million students are likely to enter the higher and vocational education in North India. This will require about USD 84 billion to meet demand – supply challenges in skill / education sector of North India.

Further the report outlines that the number of ITIs per 100 sq km is 1.7 in northern region compared to 4.7 in southern region. North India has lesser number of medical colleges whilst Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat account for 63 percent of total medical colleges and 67 percent of the number of seats.

North India needs to upgrade its education system, not only by building capacity but also making qualitative changes in teaching methods. In particular, the system needs to ensure access, equity and inclusive education for all. The report suggests increasing industrial participation coupled with reforms in the education system. Private-public partnerships will be required to implement this strategy.

Listing the elements of Greener North, CII views huge amount of unexplored opportunities for developing North India as a greener territory and foresees that in the near future the region’s environmental profile will be much stronger. The key to a Green North is infrastructure i.e. grey infrastructure (the built environment) and green infrastructure (the natural environment). Ensuring that both types of infrastructure are functioning in tandem will be the key to Green North. These two types of infrastructure play a vital role in maintaining the quality of community life.

For the Himalayan ecosystem, the report calls for understanding whether and to what extent the Himalayan glaciers are in recession and how the problem could be resolved; establish an observational and monitoring network for the Himalayan environment; and promote community based management of the ecosystems through incentives to community organizations and panchayats for protection of forested lands.

Elaborating on the revolutionary concept of sustainability, Mr Harpal Singh, Chairman CII Northern Region, talked about the “Blue Economy”. This is an idea that was championed by Professor Gunter Pauli, Founder,  Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives (ZERI), who will be speaking at the Northern region Annual session.

Blue Economy is the next step in sustainability & talks about development through technology and innovation from the natural resources available. For example, development of newer natural based materials for industrial use.

Further detailing on the concept in context of Northern Region, Mr Harpal Singh said, " Contributing 27.1% of India's energy demand, the region is responsible for about 26% of over all emission from Power Sector  Similarly region's water resources are also under severe constraint. Therefore, North India must look at the sustainability principle of Prof Pauli and try to adopt some of the processes, which are already being implemented globally. Business models of the Blue Economy rely on a new generation of entrepreneurs who do not pursue a business strategy based on core competence but who meet the basic needs of a multi-faceted and diverse society with what is available.   

Emphasizing on the importance of education and skills, Mr Harpal Singh, said that for Northern Region to be at the forefront of India’s development, it has to ensure access to education and opportunities for skill development. North which is estimated to account for 50% of the population increase between 2001 and 2026, should build itself into a knowledge economy.

The report will be released at Annual Regional Meeting & Conference, “Tomorrow’s North: Green & Educated” on March 30th, 2010. The event will see participation of key representatives of the sector like Mr Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India; Mr Suresh Kalmadi, Member of Parliament & Organizing Chairman, Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, Prof Gunter Pauli, Founder, Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives (ZERI), and Member, Club of Rome; Mr Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman & Co-founder, NIIT Group; Mr Suresh P Prabhu, Chairman, Centre for Energy, Environment & Water Mr Hari S Bhartia, Vice President, CII & Co-Chairman & Managing Director, Jubilant Organosys Ltd ; Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, CII Agriculture Council & Vice Chairman & Managing Director Bharti Enterprises to name a few.

CII has been actively involved with the government and industry in the area of education, skill development and environment. In the field of education, CII has collaborated for ITI Excellence Program 2009-10, Fast Tracking of 6 ITI’s adopted by CII J & K Members, Modular Employable Skills (MES) Scheme as a competency based short duration programmes offered to the youth in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. CII has initiated a setting up of a Skills Development Centre as a pilot project at Parwanoo in association with Indian Institute of Skills Development, which will cater to short term advanced courses in various trades.

In the environment domain, CII has joined hands with Government of Himachal Pradesh towards “Greener Himachal”; released report on Roadmap for Accelerating Renewable Energy Sector Growth; Report on ‘Decentralized power for higher efficiency- Roadmap for Northern region’, proposed Renewable Energy Policy Roadmap and the likes. CII also has Water Institute functional at Jaipur offering select services for effective water management by industry. The institute plans to scale up into a full fledged centre of excellence offering one stop shop solution to all issues pertaining to water resource management to the industry and society at large.

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