PUNJAB

Budding scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology in Ropar and Kanpur and Delhi University Management Studies faculty have developed a living-plant based air purifier Ubreathe Life that amplifies air purification process in indoor spaces, including hospitals, schools and offices.

Ropar IITs startup company Urban Air Laboratory which developed the product, claims it to be the worlds first, state-of-the-art Smart Bio-Filter that can make breathing fresh. It has been incubated at Ropar IIT, which is a designated Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub, by the Department of Science and Technology.

The technology works through air-purifying leafy Plants, including peace lily, snake plant and spider plants. Room air interacts with the leaves and goes into the -root zone where maximum pollutants are purified

A grant of Rs 4.74 crore has been released by the Education Department to 2,200 primary and 2,538 high and senior secondary schools for the establishment of listening labs.

The Minister said that recently, Punjab has emerged as a leader in the field of school education as per the Performance Grading Index (PGI) released by the Union Government and the has continuously been working hard to retain the top position in the upcoming years.

ThePunjabgovernment plans to spend Rs 350 crore on providing the farmers with subsidised machinery for straw management in order to discourage the burning of crop residue.

Punjab Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture ministerGurmeet SinghKhuddian said on Sunday that his department had submitted this action plan to the central government to seek more than 20,000 machines and 1,000 custom hiring centres. This scheme will give up to 80% subsidy to the co-operative societies and other groups, besides 50% to the individual farmers.

The agriculture department has invited applications from the farmers, co-operative societies, farmer produce organisations (FPOs), and panchayats interested in getting subsidised CRM (crop residue management) machinery in Kharif season 2023. The machines areSuper SMS, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, Happy Seeder, paddy straw chopper, shredder, mulcher, hydraulic reversible mould board plough, and zero till drill for in-situ management of stubble, along with baler and rake for ex-situ management.

Punjab Government will pay off loans to the tune of Rs 590 crore of 2,85,325 members of the Primary Agricultural (PACSs), thus ensuring a relief of Rs 20,000 per member, said the Chief Minister.

He directed the Finance and Cooperation Departments to kick off the process for effective implementation of the decision on the ground.

Punjab Government has formulated a Debt Relief Scheme for Farm Labourers and Landless Farming Members of PACS-2019, which will cover only Consumption Loan to the members of the Primary Agricultural advanced by District Central Cooperative banks in the state of Punjab through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies.

Punjab Government will forge a strategic PARTNERSHIP with Israel for developing a better water management system in the State. Punjab Government will work on making effective use of Israeli technology and indigenous innovations to develop a cost-effective and sustainable water supply and sewerage in the State, said the state Water supply and sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa on Wednesday.

Jimpa, while speaking at the Roundtable with Dr Lior Asaf, Water Attache, Embassy of Israel; Neeraj Gahlwat, Senior Resources“>Water Resources Specialists, International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), Embassy of Israel; and Dr Amit Dhir, Professor, Thapar University, appreciated the role played by Israel in supporting India in addressing water and wastewater challenges.

Punjab Government has been very concerned with the depleting groundwater levels in the state and efforts are being made to improve the water quality of chappars (ponds) in rural areas, he said.

Accentuating rainwater harvesting as one of the important aspects of groundwater recharge, the Minister said that the Punjab Government has made it mandatory for all buildings in the State.

He virtually launched the Statewide revamped ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’ to kickstart slew of development projects worth Rs.115 crore to further capitalise on the success of the first phase of the Mission so as to make second phase more focussed by introducing 10 Sub-Missions spearheaded by separate Departments of the State. These sub-missions include Safe Food, Clean Water, Green Punjab, Road Safety, Nutrition, Waste Management, Khedo Punjab, Healthy , Clean Air and Preventive Health.

Punjab has recorded a wheat production of around 168 lakh metric tonnes this year, which is 13.5 per cent higher than the previous years wheat yield of the state.

Last year, the total yield was around 148 lakh metric tonnes in Punjab. The Union Government had relaxed quality norms for wheat procurement following the request of the Punjab Government after inclement weather had hit the standing crops.

According to the Union Government, they had already procured over 121 lakh metric tonnes of wheat which is higher than the previous years figure of 96.48 Lakh metric tonnes.

In fact, Punjabs per acre wheat yield as per the state Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department rose from 42 quintal per acre last year to 47.25 quintal per acre this year. Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns Home district Sangrur has had highest per acre yield with 53-55 quintal.

For the same, all the Civil Surgeons have been instructed to conduct RAT sampling or testing of every person in the rural areas, while the Community Health Officers (CHOs) have been given the responsibility of monitoring all the patients in Home isolation.

Under the Mission Fateh 2.0, ASHA workers will go door-to-door in every village to check for COVID symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Pulse oximeters will be provided to all ASHA workers for conducting the survey. The information of suspected person will be immediately shared by ASHA with CHO so that the person can be tested for COVID and necessary treatment as per protocol will be provided to the patient.

Concerned aboutprivate hospitals, especially smaller setups, recording a high number of Covid-19 deaths, thePunjabgovernment is helping them in providing treatment to criticallyill patients. With almost three persons out of every 100 confirmed cases losing their lives to the virus, Punjab has the highest case fatality rate in the country.

The team examine real-time details of all patients including comorbidities, Glasgow coma scale (GCS), Oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate (RR), partial pressure of oxygen (Pa02), oxygen saturation, pH values, Covid specific drugs, Steroids, heparin, choice of induction agents for intubation, ventilatory mode and duration of invasive ventilation.

The had recently set a minimum requirement for Infrastructure and manpower for private Health facilities to be able to offer level-III care to critical patients.

Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua said that 142 Aam Aadmi Clinics will be dedicated to people on March 31.

Chairing a meeting to review the opening of these clinics, he said that these have proved to be a cornerstone in imparting quality Health Services to people. He said that till now around 500 Aam Aadmi Clinics are operational in the state and lakhs of people are taking benefit from these clinics every day.

Janjua said that now 142 more such clinics will be operationalised on March 31 and these will be opened in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara. He said that these clinics are dream project of the Chief Minister, who is according top priority to them and the recruitment for staff in these clinics is also going on in full swing. Janjua said that he will personally monitor the progress of these clinics on day to day basis.