A plan to offer healthcare at the doorstep of villagers suffering from illnesses such as cancer and water-borne diseases was introduced by the Punjab administration on Saturday.

The state administration along with Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited made announcement about the 'Sanjeevan Swasthya Sewa' by flagging off 10 specially-designed healthcare vans from Mirjeana village adjoining the Haryana border.

The Punjab administration has given in-principle nod to announced Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala region as a holy town considering its religious and historical value.

Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal took the decision on Friday during a meeting of the Sultanpur Lodhi development board.

According to a government representative, "Badal has directed the revenue department officials to finalise the modalities to declare Sultanpur Lodhi as holy town at the earliest. He has also asked the chairman of Punjab Powercom to provide 24-hour uninterrupted power supply in the town."

The much anticipated Medical Registration Act, which was pending for long struggling to seek an amendment, has finally got a nod from the Punjab government, confirmed the state's Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal.

Punjab government today gave consent to alter the Punjab Medical Registration Act of 1916 in order to make the act "far more relevant and broad-based" with regard to the present state.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal urged Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to establish the proposed Borlaug Institute for South Asia at Ladhowal, in Punjab's Ludhiana region.

In a note to PM, Badal said that the Nobel laureate and father of the green revolution Norman E. Borlaug was intimately associated with Punjab.

Badal wrote that the funtionaries of Punjab Agricultural University (in Ludhiana) and many people of Punjab still memorize Borlaug with great honor and warmth.

Chandigarh, Jan 11 : The Punjab government Monday announced a Rs. 500,000 grant to the kin of the two youth killed in suspected racial attacks in Australia earlier this month.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced the grant to the family of Nitin Garg and Ranjot Singh who were killed in racial attacks by unidentified assailants in Australia last week.

While Nitin was stabbed to death in Melbourne city, the body of Ranjot was found in New South Wales province. Nitin was cremated in Jagraon town, 160 km from here, Sunday.

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Jan 6 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is deputy chief minister, Wednesday met Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese, and sought immediate steps to ensure safety of Punjabi students and immigrants in that country.

The meeting by the Badals and their delegation with the high commissioner follows the death of two Punjabi youth in Australia in recent days. The attacks are being suspected to be racially motivated.

Chandigarh, Jan 4 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure the safety of youths from the state studying or working in Australia, following the killing of a youth in Melbourne Saturday.

"Badal has urged the prime minister to ensure the safety and security of Punjabi youths who had gone to Australia to pursue higher education or for other vocations," a government spokesperson said here Monday.

Chandigarh, Dec 29 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday asked officials to examine the feasibility of adopting the Tamil Nadu healthcare model in the state to ensure better procurement of high quality medicines and equipment.

The review committee, which was constituted by Badal in 2007, assigned the work of detailed study of health institutions working under the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC), in the 10 districts of the state, to the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare
(NIHFW), New Delhi.

Chandigarh, Dec 28 : Punjab would have a self-contained integrated Information Technology (IT) and knowledge industry park at Rajpura town in Patiala district, an official said Monday.

Spread over an area of 1,276 acres, the IT hub would be the first facility of its kind being offered by the state for investment.

The decision to establish the IT park was taken at a high level meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here Monday.

Chandigarh, Dec 24 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has assured the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the state of all government assistance, as also allotment of vending booths and low income group (LIG) and medium income group (MIG) dwellings to the eligible beneficiaries, an official said Thursday.

"Booths, as well as LIG and MIG dwelling units, will be allotted to genuine claimants at Mohali, Patiala and Ludhiana at very reasonable rates in accordance with the policy guidelines of the state government," an official spokesperson said.

Chandigarh, Dec 22 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday approved the investment plan of Brattle Foods Limited, giving them a green signal to set up three mega units in the state with an investment of Rs. 8 billion
(Rs. 800 crore) in various sectors, officials said.

"Brattle Foods would establish a Rs. 300 crore dairy unit, Rs. 400 crore meat processing unit and Rs. 100 crore fruits and vegetables processing unit. They would come over a land of around 200 acre in the state over the next three to five years," an official spokesperson said.

Chandigarh, Dec 21 :Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday directed the senior health officials to remain alert about the spread of swine flu in the state and asked them to visit all the districts to supervise the situation.

In a meeting held here Monday evening, Badal reviewed the arrangements made by health department for tackling the influenza A (H1N1) virus cases in the state.

So far, Punjab has got 127 positive cases of swine flu and 20 people have died due to this contagious virus in the state. (IANS)

Chandigarh, Dec 21 :Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up with Islamabad the issue of a Pakistan-based Sikh lawyer's hair being forcibly cut by a group of Muslims.

Chandigarh, Dec 16 : The much-delayed Guru Gobind Singh Bathinda refinery project will start functioning from June 2011, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here Wednesday.

"We have been informed that 54 percent of the project is complete and the refinery will start functioning from June 2011," Badal told media here.

The refinery is a joint venture between the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Ltd (MEL).

Chandigarh, Dec 9 : Over 80 'anganwadi' workers (village-level social workers) were arrested here Wednesday trying to enter the official residence of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to submit a memorandum, police said.

The workers gathered in Sector 2 from various parts of the state and wanted to meet Badal but were stopped just metres away from the chief minister's official residence.

Chandigarh, Dec 3 : Despite opposing the India-US nuclear deal in July last year, the Akali Dal -- now in power in Punjab -- has requested the central government to approve a nuclear power plant in the state.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Thursday urged union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to advise the state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCI) to explore the possibility of setting up a nuclear power plant in the state.

Chandigarh, Nov 30 : Punjab will make recruitments to fill nearly 2,500 vacant posts in various government departments in the coming months, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here Monday.

"We will recruit around 2,500 people in the departments of food and supplies, local government and in the mandi board. It will ensure efficient and result-oriented functioning in these departments," he said.

Badal also gave approval to the Punjab state warehousing corporation to recruit the staff they needed to ensure smooth procurement operations.(IANS)

Chandigarh, Nov 25 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday urged the central government to develop the national highway number 71 from Jalandhar to Bawal as a four-lane corridor on priority basis.

Badal made this demand in a letter written to union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath.

"We want the union government to pursue the four-laning of national highway-71 on priority basis. We assure full support and co-operation on behalf of the state government," Badal said.

Chandigarh, Nov 18 - Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is in Israel seeking trade and agricultural ties with that country, a Punjab government spokesman said here Wednesday.

A delegation led by Badal Tuesday called on Israel's Industry, Trade and Labour Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, where they discussed ways to further cooperation in areas related to trade and agriculture including water technology.

Mohali (Punjab), Nov 14 : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday announced that 13 new degree colleges would come up in the state by next year at a cost of Rs. 104 crore.

These colleges would be located in the educationally backward districts of Amritsar, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Nawanshahar, Patiala and Sangrur on the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Badal was presiding over a function to mark the silver jubilee of the Government College here, 10 km from state capital Chandigarh.