PUNJAB

According to the study, conducted by former economics professor of Punjabi University, Patiala, Lakhwinder Singh, in view of the crisis faced by migrant labourers during the pandemic and in normal times, there is an urgent need to frame a comprehensive public policy to ensure decent work and upward mobility of the migrant workforce.

A large number of migrant workers faced misery during the first lockdown that lasted more than 68 days, says the study. In the initial phase, migrant workers and their family members travelled back Home with their own meagre transport facilities such as bicycle and barefoot. Some died on the way due to the lack of food and water and other lifesaving facilities.

Concluding that the upward mobility of migrant labour force is quite limited in Punjab, the study also recommended that if the would like to draw full benefits of the young migrant workforce working in urban locations, it should provide them Education and skills keeping in view of the emerging EMPLOYMENT opportunities. It also emphasised that the female migrant workforce should be imparted two-pronged literacies education and skills, and financial so that they are saved from double exploitation and also empowered and ensured upward mobility.

Punjab government will soon take up with the Central Government the matter regarding fleecing of the common man by fixing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of medicines at exorbitant prices. The state Vidhan Sabha on Thursday unanimously passed a non-official resolution urging the to take up the matter with the Centre.

The members, led by the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh, deliberated over the non-official resolution moved by Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Chamkaur Sahib Dr Charanjit Singh.

Dr Balbir Singh, taking on the resolution, said that the issue was already in his mind. Even, I had recently brought this matter into the notice of the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya during his Patiala visit a few days back. The cancer drugs have already been regulated by the government, but non-scheduled drugs and e-pharmacy are yet to be regulated, he added.

Punjab Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Sunday released a poster providing detailed information of various government projects to promote fisheries occupation in the State.

Bhullar, after releasing the poster of these projects under PMMSY, said that the State Government has promoted this scheme in the state with the aim of further development of fisheries sector. He said that all kinds of projects for fish farming are included in this scheme, and beneficiaries can avail 40 to 60 percent subsidy for adopting this auxiliary occupation.

For the first time in the state, subsidy was provided to 43 beneficiaries for purchasing motorcycles, and auto-rickshaws for the transportation of fish and fish products under this scheme, said the Cabinet Minister, adding that besides this, around 120 hectares area has been brought under shrimp farming, for which financial assistance has been provided to 107 beneficiaries.

The Minister said that the project of mini fish feed mills are being established in the State under this scheme, and construction of a total five mini fish feed mills in the private sector at districts of Jalandhar, Patiala, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Faridkot, and Gurdaspur will be completed soon.

Under this scheme, latest techniques of fish farming such as Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS) and Bio-floc Culture System are also being promoted in Punjab, which would enable fish production in large quantity by using limited space and water. He said that currently, four RAS units are operational in the state, while the construction work of two more units is in progress. Apart from this, five bio-floc units are also being set up.

To further promote pisciculture in the state, Punjab Government has decided to increase area under profitable agri-allied occupation, shrimp culture, to 5,000 acres over next five years.

Farmers are getting an income of Rs three lakh per acre by adopting shrimp farming which is being practiced on the saline-affected water-logged land. It has proved a boon to supplement the farmers income,

Bhullar said that for the development of shrimp culture, a dedicated Demonstration Farm-cum-Training Center is being run at Ena Khera village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, where free training and -water testing facilities are being provided to shrimp farmers.

The Minister urged the farmers to adopt aqua-culture to further increase their sources of income. The government is providing 40 to 60 percent subsidy for adopting aqua-culture, he said, adding that 40 percent subsidy is being provided for general category and 60 percent subsidy is being given to SC/ST/Women and their self-help groups.

Five tablets per school are being distributed with a view to make the government schools libraries hi-tech. The department is also installing apps connected with the e-content in the tablets with the directions to the concerned schools to ensure keeping of e-content operational, said the state School Education Minister Pargat Singh.

To ramp up while utilizing natural sources optimally, Punjab Government has decided to install Solar Power Photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total capacity of 300 megawatt (MW) in the State, including 200 MW canal top solar PV power projects and 100 MW floating solar PV power project on the reservoirs and lakes.

The state New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Aman Arora, taking the decision in a high-level meeting, said that the proposed 200 MW Canal Top Solar Project would be installed in a phased manner, under which 50 MW would be installed in the first phase, while projects of remaining capacity would be installed in subsequent phases.

These projects will be executed in Build, Operate and Own (BOO) mode by Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), he added.

Similarly, Floating Solar PV Projects are also a new emerging idea being implemented in the country for using the potential area on lakes and reservoirs, which will also lead to saving thousands acres of precious agricultural land. The cost of Floating Solar PV Projects would be around Rs 4.80 crore per MW after considering 20 per cent VGF.

Punjab saw an overall 18 per cent less pollution though the states air quality continued to be suffocating for second year in a row on Diwali.

Punjab saw the Average AQI reduction of 18.3 per cent from the last year.

The cities of Punjab have observed reduction in the AQI during this years Diwali as compared to last year.

The average AQI of Punjab this year on Diwali was 268 (Poor) as compared to 328 (Very Poor) in 2020.

Last year AQI of the four cities (Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala) remained in Very Poor Category. However, this year AQI of only two cities (Amritsar and Jalandhar) remained in Very Poor Category.

The maximum AQI reduction was observed in Patiala (27.8%) and minimum was observed in Jalandhar (0.3%).

As the institutional loans advanced to farmers soar to Rs 77,700 crore, higher than the total farm debt in 2018, the futility of the Punjab Governments flagship Farm Loan Waiver Scheme has hit Home hard.

Latest data available from the State Level Bankers Committee shows the total loans advanced to farmers in Punjab stand at Rs 77,753.12 crore, as on June 2021. When the loan waiver scheme was launched in 2018, the total loans advanced to farmers stood at Rs 74,878.46 crore. In the past over three years, since the scheme was announced and implemented, the loan advanced has increased by Rs 2,874.66 crore.

This shows the hike in total advances in the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector is in spite of the fact that the brought out the much-hyped Farm Loan Waiver Scheme in January 2018, and claims to have waived loans of 5.64 lakh farmers worth Rs 4,624 crore. In addition, the state government has just extended the scheme for farm labourers. The government claims it wants to settle loans worth Rs 592 crore, taken by farm labourers from cooperatives, and so far, Rs 181 crore relief has been given.

The survey was kickstarted on June 24 to cover children between 6-18 years of age and the PGIMER on Tuesday released initial findings.

The serosurvey among the paediatric Population is of utmost importance since there is a speculation that the third COVID-19 wave can affect children, said PGIMER Director Dr Jagat Ram.

He said that till date, blood samples of 756 children had been collected for the serosurvey out of which 519 had tested positive for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 which means almost 69 percent of children in Chandigarh had been previously infected.

Till date blood samples of 756 children had been collected for the serosurvey out of which 519 had tested positive for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 which means around 69 percent of children in Chandigarh had been previously infected, he said.