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CRIKC Alliance Signs MoU with CII-NR

Market Watch

July 7, 2017

After years of only talk, we finally walked the talk on Friday. The much awaited marriage of the academia and the industry was finally solemnised. The venue was the premises of the CII-NR headquarters in Chandigarh’s Sector 31.

In a first of its kind association in Northern India, Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC), an alliance of 25-odd reputed public sector and private institutions of higher learning and research, and Confederation of Indian Industry – Northern Region (CII-NR) opened a new chapter in industry-academia partnership by signing a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work for common good. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore was the chief guest.

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

The MoU envisages creation of a ‘CRIKC-CII (NR) Industry-Academia (I-A) Board’ for framing meaningful courses of higher learning in line with industry requirements, and commissioning and funding of research projects by the industry and absorbing this research in modernization and growth of the industry.

The board will prepare a roadmap and devise governance model to promote partnership programs between the research and educational institutes in Chandigarh region and industries represented by CII-NR. It will also undertake a number of activities like industry-academia interfaces, submit collaborative research projects to public and private funding agencies, set up industry sponsored chairs, scholarships, fellowships, laboratories at institutes in Chandigarh region.

The board will also organize industry-academia collaborative workshops, seminars, conferences, showcasing and networking meets, design competitions etc. to evolve new ideas for addressing industrial challenges and setting up start up, entrepreneurship and skill development programs.

Prof Arun Kumar Grover, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh and President of the Governing Body of CRIKC, emphasised the need for linkages between government, industry and institutions for exchange of best practices and training for students. Industry and academia can replicate the concept of interchangeability of roles as practiced in advanced countries, he said.

Dr Dinesh Dua, Chairman, Regional Committee on Higher Education, CII Northern Region who is also CEO & Director, Nectar Lifesciences Ltd, said, “Academia is at the centre of developing trends. However, there is a gap between universities and industry that needs to be bridged. Acknowledging the importance of knowledge cluster, CII desires to work in tandem with CRIKC. Such an alliance will boost the R&D of industries and help enhance the educational skills of their employees. CII strongly believes that the country cannot achieve the universalisation of education without the contribution of the private sector,” he added.

Reining In Mayhem On The Roads

News & Views

Sanjeev Kochhar

July 6, 2017

The day was marked by firm decisions aimed at making the killer stretches of Punjab roads less deadly, demolishing the cartelisation of goods carriages, which were hurting the already distressed industry, and breaking the near monopoly of a few private bus operators over profitable bus routes in the state, which had lead to state run bus operations turning sick.

The Punjab cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday, approved the Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulation and Prevention of Cartelization Rules), 2017, which bar good carriage operators from forming cartels or unions in the state. The proposed new rules will be placed in public domain for 30 days for comments and objections.

Photo By: Life In Chandigarh

To protect the interests of transporters, following the abolition of truck unions, it was also decided that the government should fix minimum and maximum fares and freights for goods carriers. This would be done from time to time, in respect of different kinds of goods carriers on a per kilometre basis for wet and dry loads and for the transportation of livestock, keeping in view the different terrains to be traversed, the cost of fuel and maintenance, salaries and expenditure, and all other relevant factors pertaining to different kinds of goods carriages.

The cabinet also gave its green signal to the much-awaited new Transport Policy, while abolishing the system of DTOs and restructuring the Transport Department in order to streamline the issuance of permits and licences across commercial and private transport vehicles.

It was resolved that the state government will gradually increase the state transport undertakings’ share in the luxury bus service, currently controlled by bus cartels, with a target to eventually make this service state-controlled.

The killer stretches of roads in the border state may become less deadly if the new initiatives, especially one of outsourced computerised eyes on the roads, announced on Wednesday by the Capt Amarinder Singh government, are effectively implemented.

The new rules envisage that each operator, within 6 months of grant of permit, will ensure that his buses are equipped with GPS tracking system and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as specified by the state government. This will enable monitoring of movement, speed, stoppages and regularity of the service of buses on permitted routes by the state government as well as the general public.

Operators would also have to ensure that CCTV cameras are installed inside the buses plying in, and entering, the state, to minimise chances of untoward incidents inside the buses and to ensure detection and appropriate action in case of such incidents.

In addition, panic buttons would have to be installed in buses to trigger an SMS/Call to nearest police station along with GPS location of the bus. The bus operator would also mandatorily have to be part of a common digital platform with requisite devices in buses to enable common tickets/passes for passengers travelling on buses in the state.

The government, as per the new initiative, would endeavour to develop facilities, on an outsourced basis, to set up automatic facilities for detection of over-speeding and issuance of challans based on speed radars and vehicle number plate readers, along state and national highways.

The state government would also be required to develop appropriate facilities, on an outsourced basis, to set up adequate automatic computerised testing stations for conducting annual fitness check of commercial vehicles.

The state government would also make efforts to ensure that challans are issued by Police and Transport Departments only on online handheld machines linked to a central/cloud server.

Focus On Bringing Punjab Back On Rails™

News & Views

Sanjeev Kochhar

July 4, 2017

Robust tax collections during the first quarter of the current financial year, reining in of organised criminal gangs and drug and sand mafias, dismantling of truck unions and major initiatives to attract investment in the cash-strapped border state were some of the achievements listed out by Capt. Amarinder Singh during the first 100 days of the Congress Government in Punjab led by him.

Looking visibly tired at a briefing, his first major interaction with the Media after taking over reins of the state, he even jokingly asked media persons if they were getting bored with the long list of achievements of his government. He, however, continued, saying “Ik paragraph hey rahay gaya hai.” He was flanked by Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh and state Director General of Police Suresh Arora.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, flanked by Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

Commenting on the controversial Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, which is to take the neighbouring states’ share in the “surplus” Ravi-Beas river waters, he said he was for arriving at a negotiated settlement. He was not against the neighbouring states getting their share, but first Punjab needs to know how much depletion in discharge of river waters has taken place over the years and what the scenario is expected to be in the coming years. “Where will Punjab go, faced with a dangerously depleting water table and a reducing quantum of surface water,” he asserted.

He, however, expressed the hope that a decision would have been taken to sit across the table with Haryana at the intervention of the Centre before the next date of hearing in the case in the Supreme Court.

Warning all organised criminal gangs to surrender, or face the wrath of the state, he said a number of these gangs had been neutralised and other were being pressurised to see reason. Supporting the CM’s words, DGP Arora said during the last three months, out of the 240 members of 49 organised criminal gangs operating in the state, 137 had been arrested and jailed. From among the 12 category ‘A’ gangs, three had been neutralised and seven of the 10 ‘B’ category gangs had been grounded, he added. (What stopped the DGP from performing this feat during the previous Akali Dal-BJP Government, when also he was state police chief, is anybody’s guess).

Strongly supporting the imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Capt Amarinder Singh said Punjab stood to gain Rs 5,000 crore in revenue annually, which would give much needed respite to the debt-ridden state. Clarifying the Congress party’s stand on GST, he said it was only opposed to multiple slabs in the tax structure. When the Congress moved the GST only one 18 percent slab was proposed, he added.

Reiterating the state government’s resolve to come good on all of Congress party’s promises made in the election manifesto, the chief minister informed that the promise of job for every family will be fulfilled and a beginning will be made with a Job Mela to be held sometime in August, where 50,000 youths will be handed over job letters.

He clarified that the Rs 1500 crore earmarked in this year’s budget for farm debt waiver was only for the purpose of repayment of this year’s instalment of farmers’ debt to the banks and that efforts were being made to find solutions for the farmers’ debt with non institutional lenders.

He maintained that despite being controversial, the state government stood by its decision to establish a regulatory authority for private colleges and universities in the state, which will go a long way in standardising curricula and faculty and improving the quality of education in these institutions.

Other important decisions/achievements claimed by state government :

Entire outstanding farm loans of 7,000-odd families of farmers, who committed suicide over the years, to be borne by state government.
During first quarter of current financial year, revenue from VAT up 33% – from Rs. 4568 crore to Rs. 6012.96 crore
Transport fees/taxes collection up of 25%
Collections from excise auctions up 23.1 percent (increase of Rs. 1016 crore).
Decision at final stages for infusion of another Rs 20,000 crore investment into second phase of petro chemical complex at Bathinda, for which a meeting has been fixed in New Delhi on July 8.
Rs 500 crore to be invested in Phase II of Quark City in Mohali
16 new specific special industrial parks to come up
Rs 400 crore hi-tech cycle valley in Ludhiana
Skills University to come up at Chamkaur Sahib
Separate Horticulture University at Abohar with PAU Ludhiana mentoring it
Deptt of Ground Water Management to check alarming depletion of groundwater table
Rs. 100 crore Road Safety Fund to arrest spiral of fatal road accidents
Work to start soon on Shahpur Kandi hydroelectric project which will make available an additional 0.78 Million Acre Feet (MAF) of water
Strong Lok Pal Bill on the anvil to bring Chief Minister, ministers and bureaucrats in its ambit. Lok Pal to be made fully competent to take action as deemed fit.
New Industrial and Transport policies on anvil
Governance Ethics and Reforms Commission competent to scrutinize all government transactions above Rs. 50 crore.
Special Court proposed to Punjab and Haryana High Court for dealing with NRIs and special categories of military personnel.
Cash transfers directly to bank accounts of genuine beneficiaries of social security schemes
To further discourage VIP culture, hooters and sirens also to be banned for VIPs
Crackdown on drug trade by Special Task force (STF), supported by the police and other state agencies, led to registration of 3845 cases under NDPS Act till June 13, 2107, with 4438 people being arrested and more than 58 kgs of heroin recovered, along with other banned substances
Hassle-free procurement of a record 122 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and prompt payment to farmers
Another runway on the anvil at the international airport in Mohali
Free education for all girl students from Nursery to PHD
30 percent reservation for women in government jobs on the anvil
200 health and wellness clinics across the state to screen children for basic health parameters, genetics, height, weight, etc.
New government medical college at Mohali
Universal health insurance scheme for tertiary care

Restoring Dignity™ Is TK Ruby’s Difference™

News & Views

Sanjeev Kochhar

July 2, 2017

Restoring Dignity™ Is TK Ruby’s Difference™

Taking forward the new Rotary International President, Aussie Ian Riseley’s slogan of ‘Making a Difference’ forward, Rtn. TK Ruby, installed Governor of District 3080 at a ceremony held at a luxury hotel in Panchkula, on Sunday, has a vision of his own – leaving a lasting impact on the lives of people by ‘Restoring Dignity’.

Sharing his thoughts with media persons after the installation ceremony at Hotel Holiday Inn, Ruby, who runs a pharmaceutical firm, said when we extend assistance or provide relief to the needy, we do not always leave a permanent impact on their lives. “My vision is to focus the activities of Rotarians in my district, comprising parts of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, into helping inmates of Old Age Homes, Orphanages and Blind Schools restore their dignity.

Photo By: Life In Chandigarh

“With 77 clubs and 3400-odd members, Rotary District 3080 can make a real difference if we can help at least some of the forsaken elderly people reconcile with their children, or help some visually impaired children at least get back partial vision to make them self dependent, or act as foster parents to the orphans to make them feel the warmth of family, even if on occasions. If we are able to do this, we would leave a permanent impact in their lives,” Ruby elaborated.

“I feel Old Age Homes is not our culture. Today, instead of inviting a VIP for my installation, I preferred to get the honours done at the hands of my mother Santosh Sharma. By making my mother the Chief Guest for the occasion, I am wanting to send across a message – parents are to be adored, not forsaken,” he asserted.

Ruby said since he is associated with the pharmaceutical industry, his district would make efforts to arrange vision screening camps in blind schools to look at the possibility of restoring partial vision among the inmates. Similarly, we would encourage our members to adopt orphans, and act as their foster parents, so that the orphans do not feel alone in good and bad times, he said, adding that efforts will also be made to impart IT and other vocational skills to them to enhance their chances of getting meaningful employment.

Coming to Rotary International President Ian Riseley’s three-point focus areas of supporting and strengthening Rotary clubs, humanitarian service and enhancing Rotary International’s public image, Ruby said he will encourage the clubs in his district to make efforts to increase their membership and implement more humanitarian service projects. He will also be interacting more often with various communities, including the Media, to enhance Rotary International’s public image.

TK Ruby’s Profile

Belongs to a family of agriculturists from Mukatsar town of Punjab. Moved to Chandigarh in the 80s. He now runs a pharmaceutical firm, Raymed Pharmaceuticals Limited, with focus on eye care. Opening a multi-speciality hospital in Sector 26 Panchkula. Has been in the service of Rotary International for the past 16 years.

Why Be Defensive, Mr CM

News & Views

Sanjeev Kochhar

July 2, 2017

That appointment of law officers by any state government in India is politically motivated, is a well known fact. These are political appointments (government’s prerogative, if you like), which are made and undone with change of government. Then, why is Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh being so defensive about the appointment of 121 law offers announced on Friday night. In the fourth month of his tenure at the head of a Congress government, is he betraying a sense of insecurity, or is he being overzealous about projecting an honest face of his government, is anybody’s guess.

In an official press statement on Saturday, Amarinder Singh tried to trash observations made in the media of favouritism in the appointments, and asserted that “every single appointment of the new law officers in the state government was based on merit after taking into account the professional qualifications and expertise of the candidates.”

Photos By: Life In Chandigarh

Reacting to news reports suggesting that kin of some Congress leaders and influential people perceived to be close to the current dispensation in the state had been accommodated in the team, the Chief Minister claimed “all appointments were cleared independently, without bias or prejudice, and solely on account of individual’s background, proficiency and experience.”

He went on to say, “similar considerations were taken into account in the appointment of all law officers, including the daughter of Congress MLA Fateh Singh Bajwa.”

His most astonishing comment, however : “It was unfortunate that a political colour was being sought to be given to the appointments. A candidate’s family connections could not be allowed to be a consideration in the matter of professional appointments. Taking such a view would lead to depriving such candidates the opportunity they deserve and, at the same time, deprive the state government of the services of efficient and meritorious professionals.”

While merit of the appointees may not be an issue of debate, the fact remains that the appointments are made with appeasement of influential people close to the power that be in the state in mind. Otherwise why is that particular law officers always make a comeback, at times in Punjab, and at other times in Haryana, when any party they, or their kin, are perceived to be close to returns to power. This happens with every state government and there is nothing to be defensive about it.

Or, is it !

The appointees :

Additional Advocates General

S.No.	Name	Father’s Name
1.	AMAR ASHOK PATHAK	HARSARUP SINGH PATHAK
2.	ANJU ARORA	MATHRA DASS GIRDHAR
3.	ANU CHATRATH	GOPAL KRISHAN CHATRATH
4.	AVTAR SINGH SANDHU	SH. SANTOKH SINGH
5.	BALBIR SINGH SEWAK	HAZARA SINGH
6.	DEEPALI PURI SANDHU	MUNISHWAR PURI
7.	GAURAV LIBERHAN	R.M.S LIBERHAN
8.	HARMEET SINGH GREWAL	GURDARSHAN SINGH GREWAL
9.	HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI	RAJINDER SINGH SETHI
10.	HITTAN NEHRA	D.R. S.M. NEHRA
11.	INDER PAL SINGH DOABIA	T.S.DOABIA
12.	KAMAL JEET SINGH	JASWANT SINGH
13.	MANJARI NEHRU KAUL	RAVI KUMAR NEHRU, JUSTICE
14.	MANOJ BAJAJ	R.P. BAJAJ
15.	MUKESH CHANDER BERRY	M.S. BERRY
16.	PANKAJ GUPTA	LAL CHAND GUPTA
17.	PARDEEP SINGH BAJWA	J.S. BAJWA
18.	PARMINDER PAL THETHI	FAQIR SINGH
19.	RAJBIRINDER SINGH CHAHAL	JOGINDER SINGH CHAHAL
20.	RAMEEZA HAKEEM	NAZIR HAKEEM
21.	SAKYA SINGH CHAUDHURI	BASAB CHAUDHURI
22.	SANDEEP VERMANI	DHARAM VIR VERMANI
23.	SUDEEPTI SHARMA	AMAR NATH SHASTRI
24.	SUVEER SHEOKAND	BHOOP SINGH
25.	VIKAS MOHAN GUPTA	RAVINER MOHAN GUPTA

	Senior Deputy Advocates General
S.No.	Name	Father’s Name
1.	AMBIKA LUTHRA	A.S. LUTHRA
2.	AMANDEEP SINGH GILL	MEHTAB SINGH GILL
3.	AMIT MEHTA	RL MEHTA
4.	ASHOK KUMAR SINGLA	SOHAN LAL
5.	CHAMAN LAL PAWAR	GANGA RAM
6.	DHRUV DAYAL	RUP DAYAL
7.	GAURAV GARG	GIAN CHAND GARG DHURIWALA
8.	JASDEEP SINGH WALIA	GURSHARANJEET SINGH WALIA
9.	JASWINDER SINGH	GURDEV SINGH
10.	KULDEEP SINGH	MEWA SINGH
11.	MONICA CHHIBBER SHARMA	A.K.CHHIBBER
12.	PAWAN SHARDA	N.L.SHARDA
13.	RAJESH KUMAR BHARDWAJ	H.S. SANDHU
14.	RAJNI GUPTA	MATHURA DASS
15.	RAJESH KUMAR BHARDWAJ	O.P.BHARDWAJ
16.	SHIREESH GUPTA	BALRAM K.GUPTA
17.	VENU GOPAL JAUHAR	HARI BHAGWAN JAUHAR

	Deputy Advocates General
S.No.	Name	Father’s Name
1.	AJAYPAL SINGH GILL	JAGPAL SINGH
2.	AMBIKA SOOD	VISHWANATH SOOD
3.	AMITOJ SINGH DHAIWAL	DALBRA SINGH
4.	ANUSHA NAGARAJAN	S NAGARAJAN
5.	ARPINDER SINGH SIDHU	HARPAL SINGH SIDHU
6.	ASHWANI BEDI	SH. RAM PARKASH BEDI
7.	BHAVNA GUPTA	H.C.MODI
8.	BIKRAMJIT SINGH BAATH	ANOOP SINGH
9.	DALDEEP SINGH SUKARCHAKIA	DALJEET SINGH SUKARCHAKIA
10.	DAVINDER BIR SINGH	KULDIP SINGH
11.	HARMANDEEP SULLAR	MANJIT SINGH
12.	JAGMOHAN SINGH GHUMMAN	A S GHUMMAN
13.	KARAN SINGH	HARDEV SINGH
14.	KIRAT SINGH SIDHU	PAITAMPAL SINGH SIDHU
15.	MANJEET SINGH DHILLON	GURBACHAN SINGH DHILLON
16.	MONIKA JALOTA	FAQIR CHAND JALOTA
17.	NARINDER BANKA	PREM DUTT BANKA
18.	NAVEEP CHHABRA	H.L. CHHABRA
19.	RAHUL RATHORE	BHUPINDER SINGH RATHORE
20.	RAJ KAMAL	RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
21.	RAKESH VERMA	SANSARI LAL VERMA
22.	RANDHIR SINGH THIND	KARNAIL SINGH
23.	RATTAN SIDHU BRAR	RAVINDERJIT SINGH BRAR
24.	SAHIL SHARMA	H.K. SHARMA
25.	SAMEER CHAUDHARY	PROF. RATI RAM CHAUDHARY
26. PGI Goes Live With Complex Procedure News & Views Sanjeev Kochhar - July 1, 2017 0 Unlike in the private sector, pursuance of excellence, and in the process making a name for themselves, has been the primary goal of most distinguished doctors in the prestigious Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER, PGI for short) in Chandigarh. And this tradition continues, though arguably in a somewhat diminished manner. A complex coronary angioplasty procedure in the catheterization lab of the PGI’s Advance Cardiac Centre (ACC), beamed live to a gathering of 1500-odd of the world’s best brains in interventional cardiology in Orlando, USA on Saturday, is another testimony to the high esteem in which PGI is held in the healthcare world. rn rn Photo By: Life in Chandigarh Participants in the 13th Annual Complex Cardiovascular Catheter Therapeutics (C3) conference, one of the most prestigious and recognized global interventional cardiology meetings in the world, were witness to Prof. Dr. Rajesh Vijayavergiya and his team from the Cardiology Department of PGI performing the complex and technically challenging coronary angioplasty of a 60 years old woman, who got admitted with complaint of recurrent chest pain at ACC. After successful stenting, Prof. Vijayvergiya commented that the left main coronary angioplasty, shown live, was technically challenging and required great technical skills along with the use of advance hardware. Since left main is one of the most important vessels supplying blood to the heart, treating it is always a battle of nerves, he added. Prof. Vijayvergiya informed that PGI, Chandigarh is amongst a handful of centers in India, where such kind of complex procedures are successfully performed on regular basis with use of advanced imaging modalities like intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). He maintained that PGI being the only center in North India to beam live such a complex coronary angioplasty case to a prestigious international audience, clearly reinforced its position as one of the leading tertiary care institutes in the country, at par with leading international institutes in the field of interventional cardiology. Kanal Houses Given July 31 Deadline News & Views Sanjeev Kochhar - June 29, 2017 0 Even as the issue of ensuring supply of tertiary treated water to existing connections, and the stink it continues to generate, is being debated in the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh House, the Water Supply Committee of the corporation has taken a decision which is sure to raise the hackles of kanal house owners. A meeting of the committee, chaired by Satish Kumar Kainth, on Thursday decided that commercial rates be charged from households in one kanal or above houses for using drinking water for irrigation purposes from August 1 this year. They have been given time till July 31 to take separate connection for tertiary treated water supply for irrigation purposes. rn rn rn Photo By: Life in Chandigarh This issue was hotly debated in a recent meeting of the MC House and several councillors had challenged the claim by officials that the tertiary treated water was being regularly supplied to all existing connections, including parks in the city. Mayor Asha Kumari Jaswal had herself admitted that the stink from the tertiary treated water was still unbearable. Thursday’s meeting of the water supply committee was attended by member councillors Devinder Singh Babla, Vinod Aggarwal, Arun Sood, Jagtar Singh Jagga, Ravi Kant Sharma and Sachin Kumar Lohitya. Concerned officers of Municipal Corporation also attended the meeting. The committee also decided that public toilets in market places be handed over to the area market associations and public toilets in green belts to the local resident welfare associations for their proper maintenance. The committee decided that user charges of water tankers for commercial purposes be hiked from Rs. 385 to Rs. 500 plus taxes and higher. It also decided to impose user charges for providing mobile toilet vans for various functions and rallies, etc. Both the decision on user charges have been sent to the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) for framing of policies in this regard. Another Out Of Box Effort News & Views Sanjeev Kochhar - June 29, 2017 0 The three-month old Captain Amarinder Singh led Congress Government in Punjab seems to be seriously trying to do some out of the box thinking in an effort to bring the state back to somewhere near the predominant position it once held in the country. And one of these efforts is visible in the field of skill development. In another step towards forging direct alliances between its own planned international skill training centres and reputed foreign technical training institutions, Punjab Government on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UK Government to impart internationally valid skill development training to youths in Punjab. Photo By: Life in Chandigarh The MoU was signed by UK Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh Andrew Ayre and Punjab Additional Chief Secretary, Technical Education & Industrial Training, G. Vajralingam in the presence of state Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, and Adviser, Punjab Skill Development Mission, Sandeep Singh Kaura. Speaking on the occasion, Channi said the state government was setting up International Skill Training Centres for providing quality skill training to youths in Punjab for rewarding careers in the country and abroad. The British Deputy High Commission Chandigarh has assured a facilitative role in building linkages between Punjab Technical Education and Industrial Training Department, Punjab Skill Development Mission and skill providers in the UK, he added. In what can be viewed as a very ambitious move, Channi said Punjab Government is keen on setting up its own technical education and skill development college in the UK, where students from the state can be educated and trained by highly qualified trainers and teachers in that country. Preliminary talks have been held with the UK embassy in New Delhi in this regard and the initial response is positive, he shared. The minister said the purpose behind signing MoUs for direct tie-ups with reputed foreign universities and colleges was to prevent exploitation of youth at the hands of private agents. As part of these associations with foreign institutes, students of four-year courses would get an opportunity to study two years abroad, he added. Andrew Ayre said this was a first of its kind MoU signed with the Punjab Government in the field of skill development, and is expected go a long way in forging a lasting partnership between Punjab Government and the UK. Judge Count In Punjab & Haryana HC Rises To 48 News & Views Sanjeev Kochhar - June 28, 2017 0 Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh Justice S.J. Vajifdar on Wednesday administered the oath of office to two additional judges of the high court. With the taking of oath by Justice Raj Shekhar Attri and Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill, the number of judges in the Punjab & Haryana High Court has gone up to 48. Judges of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, its Registrar, senior advocates and office-bearers of High Court Bar Association were among those present at the ceremony. Photo By: Life in Chandigarh 1...767778...102 Page 77 of 102 LIfe in chandigarh News & Views Lifestyle Personalities Market Watch What’s On Photo Gallery About Contact Privacy policy Terms & Conditions About us Anchored by a senior journalist, LifeInChandigarh.com is a digital endeavour, a news portal with a positive and progressive outlook, to keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen in the Chandigarh tricity area. Facebook Instagram Twitter Latest Articles Chandigarh Golf League’s Newest Team GB Legends Announces Major Mentorship Program Golf August 27, 2025 0 GB Realty, which owns the team, aims to nurture... Hello High School Grads! HCLTech Brings TechBee Program To Chandigarh, Adjoining States – Earn While You Learn News & Views August 26, 2025 0 Skill, earn and pursue graduation, post-graduation for rewarding careers... 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