Led by CM, Cabinet gives nod to convene budget session from March 1-15

Chandigarh, February 22, 2024: The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday gave nod for convening the sixth session (budget session) of 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha from March 1st to March 15th.

This was decided at a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister here at his office in Punjab Civil Secretariat I.

Disclosing the details a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the Cabinet authorized the Governor to convene the session, as per Article 174 of the Constitution of India. The Punjab Government will present its budget for the financial year 2024-25 on March 5th.  

As per the schedule, the budget session will commence on March 1st with Governor’s address followed by obituary references.  On March 5th Budget estimates for the year 2024-25 will be presented before the House and on March 15th the house will be adjourned sine-die.

Recognizing the immense contribution of Martyr PHG Jaspal Singh No. 28475 S/o Sh. Dalip Singh R/o Village Maniala, P.S. Sultanpur Lodhi, District Kapurthala, who attained martyrdom while maintaining law and order at Sultanpur Lodhi, the Cabinet has approved an ex-gratia grant to the family of martyr as a special case. The state government has equated the supreme sacrifice of Punjab Home Guard Volunteer with the Police Officers, residents of Punjab serving in Para Military Forces and Army Jawans. This will further motivate and raise morale of the Punjab Home Guards volunteers.

The Cabinet also approved amendment in Para 9 of the Teachers transfer policy 2019 in the larger interests of teachers falling in exempted category. This stipulates that those employees who are cancer patients (Self spouse or Children) / on dialysis (Self, spouse or Children)/ Liver/ Kidney Transplantation/ 40% and above disability/ Hepatitis B/ Hepatitis C/ Sickle cell Anemia/ Thelesimia/ (Self or Children)/ divorcee persons having differently able children or intellectually disabled children/ War widow/ widow of Shaheed/ where death of the spouse makes it necessary for the serving employee to relocate to another place immediately and having children below 18 years of age or teachers who are spouses of armed force personnel who have been posted in difficult areas in these cases all transfer requests will be submitted on a monthly basis on portal (no offline request will be entertained). Orders in such cases shall be issued with the approval of the Education Minister.

The Cabinet also gave approval to 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/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. This will help the Department to generate revenue and optimal use of manpower along with capacity building of the Department.

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 Rs 10000 to Rs 20,000. Pertinently, the Government of Punjab, under "The East Punjab War Awards Act 1948" gives War Jagir (financial assistance) to the 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 getting benefit of this Scheme.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet gave nod to finalize the service rules of group B and C employees in the Department of Defense services welfare after restructuring of the department. Pertinently, Punjab is not only leading in the field of combat but also leading in the welfare of its soldiers. After military service, Group B & C employees are appointed in the department and now their service rules have been finalized.

In order to give boost of the Medium and Small Scale Industries, the Cabinet also gave approval for setting up of dedicated Wing namely MSME Punjab in the Department of Industries and Commerce, Punjab, This initiative is driven by the commitment of the Government to address the diverse challenges faced by MSMEs and transform Punjab into a highly vibrant and dynamic industrial hub driven. 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.

MSME Punjab will also provide handholding/ support to MSMEs in adopting advanced technologies and modernizing their operations to stay ahead in the global marketplace, facilitating setting up of common facilities center in the areas of modern testing facilities and quality certification etc to ensure that products meet international standards, enhancing marketability. MSME Punjab will have dedicated sub divisions namely Access to Finance/Credit, Access to Technology, Access to Market. Access to Skills, and other critical needs of the sector. To ensure the effective delivery of services, MSME Punjab will collaborate with professional agencies, leveraging their expertise to benefit our stakeholders. About 8 lakhs existing MSMEs as well as new MSMEs being set up in the state will be benefited through this initiative of the Government.