Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday extended best wishes to the Vice Captain of Indian Cricket Team and batsman Shubhman Gill and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

Both the cricketers called on the Chief Minister here at his official residence today afternoon.

During the deliberations, the Chief Minister said that both the cricketers have brought laurels for the state and country by performing exceptionally well in national and international events. He said that Shubhman played a key role in India’s feat as runners up in the One Day World Cup, whereas Arshdeep acted as a catalyst in India’s victory in the T20 world cup. Bhagwant Singh Mann also congratulated Shubhman Gill for his remarkable performance in the recently concluded series against England.

In a path breaking initiative aimed at revolutionising the education system in the state, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday distributed laptops to the students of the government school as a part of digital education program of Ludhiana administration.

Speaking on the occasion the Chief Minister said that it is heartening to see that this initiative aims at focusing on equipping the government schools' students with essential tools for success in a digital learning environment. He said that these laptops are part of broader efforts to democratize digital education while ensuring security and accessibility for all students. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that these Prime Book 4G laptops, recognized as the world's most affordable under first phase of the initiative are high-performance laptops specifically designed for students.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lauded the Punjab Government's directive to all district DCs, SSPs, SDMs, and SHOs to curb corruption, calling it a major step toward honest governance.

AAP Punjab President Aman Arora praised the decision, stating that it will encourage honest and competent officers and ensure strict action against corrupt officials. He added that the Aam Aadmi Party government is committed to providing honest and transparent governance to the people of Punjab, and this decision reaffirms that commitment.

Arora said the primary goal of this decision is to ensure that people can avail all kinds of government services without any trouble, bribery, or unnecessary running from pillar to post and to free them from the menace of corruption. He said that feedback will be taken about officials from the general public and local MLAs. Based on this feedback, honest and efficient officers will be entrusted with greater responsibilities, while strict measures will be taken against corrupt officers and employees. The officials' ACRs will also be written based on this feedback.

The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Singh Mann, is committed to provide jobs to the educated youth on the basis of merit in a transparent manner. The state government has provided jobs to 50 thousand youth without any bribe or recommendation during its first three years.These views were expressed by Punjab Power and Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. Addressing the media after attending the convocation ceremony of Desh Bhagat University as the chief guest, the cabinet minister said that the Punjab government has created positive environment by providing employment to large number of youth, which has reduced the tendency of the youth to go abroad.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday lauded its ruling government in Punjab for its directive to all district officials from Deputy Commissioners to Station House Officers (SHOs) to curb corruption, calling it a “major step towards honest governance.”

AAP state President, Aman Arora, praised the decision, stating that it would encourage honest and competent officers and ensure strict action against corrupt ones.

He said the Aam Aadmi Party government is committed to providing honest and transparent governance to the people of Punjab, and this decision reaffirms that commitment.

Arora said the primary goal of this decision was to ensure that people could avail all kinds of government services without any trouble, bribery, or unnecessary running from pillar to post and to free common citizens from the menace of corruption.

He said that feedback would be taken about officials from the public and local MLAs.

Further tightening noose around corruption, the Punjab government has directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSPs) and Station House Officers (SHOs) to check corruption in their respective areas else face action.

Disclosing this here today a spokesman of state government reiterated the unwavering commitment of the Punjab government to ensure full transparency, accountability and integrity in Public service delivery. As corrupt practices undermine public trust, weaken institutions and hinder national growth, so top priority must be accorded to check this menace. Punjab government has also directed that in order to ensure corruption free and citizen friendly governance, all the field officers should take stringent and effective steps.

In a big bonanza to the employees and pensioners of the state government, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday accorded consent to disburse pending arrears worth Rs 14,000 crore to them.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister today at his office in Punjab Civil Secretariat-I.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the Cabinet gave approval to release arrears of revised pay/ pensions and leave encashment from period of January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2022 and that DA/ DR from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024 for pensioners and employees. This sum worth Rs 14,000 crore will be released in stages and will give a much needed relief to the employees and pensioners. Pertinently, there are three lakh employees and three lakh pensioners of the state government who will be directly benefitted by this move.

Punjab Fisheries Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Wednesday said the state has witnessed growth in the Fisheries sector with the implementation of a slew of measures to enhance fish production and aquaculture development.

The state government’s fish seed farms are producing over 14 crore high-quality fish seeds annually, which are being provided to farmers at subsidised rates.

He said 16 government fish seed farms, 11 fish feed mills and seven laboratories are dedicated to the fish farmers and 14.74 crore fish seedlings have been produced up to December 2024, which was 13.90 crore in 2023.

The state has 43,973 acres under fish farming and 181,188 tons of fish production is being obtained from natural waters, private and panchayati ponds.