Punjab government to present budget on March 5
Punjab assembly budget session from March 1-15, with budget proposals for 2024-25 to be presented on March 5. Cabinet amends teacher transfer policy and approves various measures.
The budget session of the Punjab assembly will be held from March 1 to 15. The go-ahead for the session was given at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Chief minister’s office spokesperson said finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema will present the budget proposals for 2024-25 on March 5.
As per the schedule, the session will commence on March 1 with the governor’s address followed by obituary references. The debate on the governor’s address will be conducted on March 4. On March 5, the budget estimates for the year 2024-25 will be presented before the House and the discussion on the budget estimates will be conducted on March 6. On March 15, the house will be adjourned sine die.
Cabinet approves amendment to teacher transfer policy
The Punjab cabinet on Thursday approved an amendment in the 2019 teachers’ transfer policy.
As per the amended policy, employees with medical exigencies at home/ whose spouses are serving in the armed forces or are war widow, having children below 18 years making it necessary for them to relocate while being posted in difficult areas can file transfer requests every month on the portal. Orders in such cases shall be issued with the approval of the education minister. No offline request will be entertained.
The cabinet also approved an ex-gratia grant to the family of home guard jawan Jaspal Singh, who died while on duty during a clash at a gurdwara at Sultanpur Lodhi.
The incident took place when policemen tried to get Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi vacated from a faction of ‘Nihangs’.
The cabinet also approved the design wing of the water resources department to provide design and consultancy services to private entities on lines similar to that of government-owned aided colleges and staff of engineering colleges and institutions. This will be subject to the condition that 40% of revenue generated by the design and consultancy services will be deposited in the state treasury.
The cabinet also gave consent to amend the ‘The East Punjab War Awards Act 1948’ by placing an amendment bill in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to double the War Jagir (financial assistance) from existing ₹10,000 to ₹20,000. The government of Punjab, under this Act, gives financial assistance to parents whose only child or two to three children had served in the Indian Army during the Second World War, National Emergency 1962 and 1971. Currently, there are 83 beneficiaries under this scheme.
The cabinet also gave a nod to finalise the service rules of group B and C employees in the department of defence services welfare after restructuring of the department.
The Cabinet also approved setting up of ‘MSME Punjab’ wing in the Department of Industries and Commerce for boosting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the state.
The ‘MSME Punjab’ will work towards enhancing the competitiveness of MSMEs, ensuring a steady flow of credit from financial institutions and banks to MSMEs, enabling them to fuel their expansion and innovation, according to the release.
It will also provide hand-holding to the MSMEs in adopting advanced technologies and modernising their operations to stay ahead in the global marketplace, facilitating the setting up of common facility centres in the areas of modern testing facilities, etc. There are about eight lakh MSMEs in the state.