Chief Minister Inaugurates ‘Rishikulam Wellness Center’ at Seva Sadhna evam Gram Vikas Kendra in Samalkha

Citizens should make Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy a part of their daily routine- Nayab Singh Saini

Chandigarh, May 19 – Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini on Monday inaugurated the Rishikulam Wellness Center at the Seva Sadhna evam Gram Vikas Kendra located in Samalkha, Panipat district. On this occasion, he urged citizens to make full use of the facilities available at the center and to incorporate Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy into their daily lives to promote a healthy lifestyle.

The Chief Minister said that this center is not only a significant step toward rural development but also strengthens our Sanatan traditions and values. On this occasion, he also announced to give Rs. 51 lakh to the institution.

Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said that the country today needs two main things, one is secure borders and healthy bodies and this center will raise awareness about health among citizens through its wellness initiatives. He said that the center is also promoting and encouraging farmers to adopt natural farming. He appealed to farmers to avoid the excessive use of chemical pesticides and move toward organic and natural farming.

The Chief Minister highlighted that state-of-the-art Skill Centers are also being run within the Seva Sadhna evam Gram Vikas Kendra, where around 450 youth are receiving skill training and being provided employment opportunities in various sectors. He emphasized that youth play a vital role in building a developed India, and this center is equipping them with the necessary guidance and resources. He also said that every individual associated with the institution bears the responsibility of contributing actively to take the organization to even greater heights.

On this occasion, President, Madhav Jan Seva Nyas, Sh. Pawan Jindal said that this Wellness Center will serve as a cornerstone for those who wish to live a stress-free life. He expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini for inaugurating the center and shared that it would be equipped with all modern amenities.

Speaking to the media after the event, the Chief Minister while responding to a question related to the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, said that Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi had asserted that it was time to erase the very foundation of terrorism and our brave soldiers succeeded in eliminating the terrorist threat within just three hours.

Responding to another question about individuals caught on charges of espionage in the interest of national security, the Chief Minister affirmed that police action is being taken against such individuals and will continue in the future as well.

Education Minister, Sh. Mahipal Dhanda, MLAs Sh. Pramod Vij and Sh. Manmohan Bhadana, BJP State President, Sh. Mohan Lal Kaushik, OSDs to Chief Minister Sh. Virender Singh Badkhalsa, Dr. Raj Nehru, former Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta, former Minister Sh. Aseem Goel, and other dignitaries remained present on this occasion.

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Chief Minister inaugurates three Development Projects worth Rs. 20 Crore in Rakhigarhi

CM and Union Minister of Culture & Tourism hold Meeting with officers to review development plans for Rakhigarhi

Directions issued to Develop Rakhigarhi as a Major Tourism Hub

Chandigarh, May 19- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini inaugurated three development projects worth Rs. 20 crores at the museum and interpretation centre in Rakhigarhi, a historic site of the Indus Valley Civilization. These projects include a rest house, a hostel, and a cafeteria. Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Sh. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Haryana Heritage and Tourism Minister, Dr. Arvind Sharma and Public Works and Public Health Engineering Minister, Sh. Ranbir Gangwa also remained present along with other dignitaries. The Chief Minister and the Union Minister also unveiled a booklet prepared on the iconic site of Rakhigarhi on this occasion.

The Chief Minister said that the newly developed rest house, cafeteria, and hostel will provide excellent facilities for tourists and students visiting from across the country and abroad. The 17-room rest house is equipped with modern amenities. The hostel comprises 13 dormitories for student accommodation, along with a dining hall facility.

On this occasion, Chief Minister, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini and Union Minister, Sh. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also visited the exhibition organized by the Department of Archaeology and Museums. The exhibition displayed various Harappan-era artefacts discovered during excavations, including children’s toys, terracotta cartwheels, lamps, terracotta beads, necklaces, and other objects.

Meeting on Development of Rakhigarhi

Following the event, the Chief Minister and the Union Minister held a meeting with officers to review the development plan for Rakhigarhi as a tourism centre. Directions were issued to the concerned departments to expedite the construction work of the Rakhigarhi Museum and Interpretation Centre.

The Chief Minister and Union Minister further directed that sheds be built at archaeological sites so that excavation work can continue throughout the year. They emphasized the importance of integrating the museum with the archaeological sites and preparing a detailed plan for lighting, parking, and other tourist facilities.

Later speaking to the media after the meeting, Union Minister Sh. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated that excavations in Rakhigarhi since the 1960s have provided concrete evidence that a highly developed human civilization existed here around 8000 years ago. The discoveries made during the excavations strongly prove that India’s civilization is the oldest in the world. He expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the Haryana Government in developing Rakhigarhi into a major tourism and research hub for archaeologists and historians. The development work is planned to be completed in various phases, he said.

The Union Minister, also praised the quality and planning of the work undertaken by the Haryana Government. He added that another significant archaeological site in Hisar, Agroha, is currently undergoing excavation. There was an in-depth discussion on integrating such sites to establish a comprehensive centre for the Indus-Saraswati civilization, and all related projects will be completed within the next two years. Before the meeting, the Union Minister visited the archaeological sites.

MLAs, Sh. Vinod Bhayana and Sh. Randhir Panihar, former Rajya Sabha MP Sh. D.P. Vats, former Minister Captain Abhimanyu, Principal Secretary, Heritage & Tourism Department Smt. Kala Ramachandran, Director Archaeology Sh. Amit Khatri and other dignitaries remained present on this occasion. ===================================

Haryana removes compliance burdens, scales MSME clusters & pushes digital governance in Tier 2 & 3 cities

Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi reviews key action points from 4th Conference of Chief Secretaries

Chandigarh, May 19 – In a comprehensive push to streamline governance, catalyse MSME growth, and improve ease of doing business, the Haryana Government has unveiled a series of reforms focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi chaired a high-level meeting today to review progress on the Action Points arising from the 4th Conference of Chief Secretaries.

Compliance Simplification and Legal Reforms

The meeting was informed that the state has eliminated 446 outdated compliance requirements under 14 major Central and State laws and decriminalised 27 minor offences. All updates have been uploaded to the DPIIT portal as part of the national Reducing Compliance Burden (RCB) initiative. Haryana is also aligning its statutes with the Jan Vishwas Bill, aiming to decriminalise 50 additional provisions across 231 Acts by year-end. To date, 838 business-facing and 271 citizen-facing compliances have been simplified. In a bid to bring infrastructure planning under a unified digital umbrella, Haryana has made it mandatory for all infrastructure projects over ₹100 crore to be routed through the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. These projects will undergo a multi-tier approval process involving the Network Planning Group, Technical Support Unit, and the Empowered Group of Secretaries, with final clearance by the Chief Minister.

Plug-and-Play Industrial Parks for MSMEs

It was informed in the meeting that under its “Cluster Plug and Play” scheme, Haryana has approved 33 industrial park projects across smaller towns with combined grant support of ₹164.54 crore. The scheme, which enables rapid enterprise setup through flatted factories, has been extended till June 2025. Additionally, the state is rolling out mini-industrial parks in all 143 blocks under the PADMA initiative. Three parks are under construction, with seven more targeted for completion this fiscal year.

The “Invest Haryana” portal has become a key interface for businesses, offering 140 services across 29 departments, with 20 more district-level services to be added this year. A major overhaul of the Single Window System is planned by end-2025, including real-time dashboards, predictive analytics, and an AI-based chatbot. Clearance times have already halved—from 24 to 12 days—since 2022 due to workflow automation and transparent tracking.

Over 8,800 DPIIT-registered startups have taken root in Haryana under the 2022 State Startup Policy, with 45% led by women. The state is supporting incubation, mentoring, and seed funding, especially through facilities like the Innovation & Startup Hub in Gurugram. Ten new incubation centres are slated to be launched in Tier 2 and 3 cities this year, along with lease subsidies and government-supported mentoring.

50 more Common Facility Centres planned

Haryana has set up 30 Common Facility Centres (CFCs) under the Mini Cluster Development Scheme, providing shared access to advanced machinery and export facilitation. Clusters in Sirsa and Rewari alone have generated thousands of jobs. The state now aims to establish 50 more CFCs and one PADMA park in each district by 2026.

Renewable Energy Training and Matrushakti Yojana

A total of 105 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Haryana have been converted into Renewable Energy training hubs, with over 4,400 trainees being skilled in solar and green technologies. Women entrepreneurs are also being supported through the Haryana Matrushakti Udyamita Yojana, which offers loans up to ₹5 lakh with a 7% interest subvention.

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ECI begins training programme for BLO Supervisors from Jharkhand

Chandigarh, May 19- Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Sh. Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated a two-day capacity-building programme for frontline election functionaries from Jharkhand at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi on Monday.

The participants, numbering 402, include DEOs, EROs, BLOs and BLO Supervisors. Over the past three months, ECI has trained over 3000 such participants from across the country at IIIDEM.

In his inaugural address, CEC Sh. Gyanesh Kumar commended the exemplary hard work and dedication demonstrated by the participants at the grassroots level in Jharkhand during enrolment of electors. CEC also exhorted the participants, who will be familiarised with the provisions of first and second appeals under Sections 24(a) and 24(b) of RP Act 1950 to make the electors aware of these provisions.

It may be recalled that the first and second appeals against the final electoral rolls can be made with the DM/District Collector/Executive Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the State/UT respectively. No appeals were filed from Jharkhand after the completion of the Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise as of 6th-10th of January 2025.

Playing a key role in ensuring correct and updated electoral rolls, the participants are being trained to function strictly as per the Representation of People Act 1950, 1951, Registration of Electors Rules 1960, Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and the instructions issued by the ECI from time to time. The curriculum of the programme includes interactive sessions, role plays, simulating house-to-house surveys, case studies, and hands-on exercises for filling Forms 6, 7 and 8. Additionally, participants will receive practical training on the Voter Helpline App (VHA) and the IT tools. The trainees will also be provided technical demonstrations and training of EVMs and VVPATs including the conduct of mock polls.

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Education Minister launches online admission portal for undergraduate courses for the 2025-26 session

Chandigarh, May 19 – Haryana Education Minister, Sh. Mahipal Dhanda launched the online admission portal for undergraduate courses in colleges by the Higher Education Department online for the academic session 2025–26 on Monday. He said that Haryana is among the leading states in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and admissions are given by the Higher Education Department in accordance with this policy.

He said that as per the recently declared examination results, around 1.86 lakh students in Haryana have passed Class 12 and are eligible for admission to various undergraduate courses across colleges in the state. The admission portal has been opened from May 19, which is earlier than last year when the process began on June 3, to ensure students face no delays or inconvenience.

All colleges will upload seat availability as per courses on the portal within 15 days. Students can select their preferred college and pay the admission fees online. The first merit list will be released shortly, followed by the second list after seven days and the third list seven days after that. Any remaining vacant seats after these rounds will be filled by the college principals through counselling through advertisements made in newspapers.

He further said that the department is taking steps to spread awareness about the admission process widely, especially in rural areas, so that students are aware of the application procedure, available courses, fee structure, and deadlines.

Eligible students can apply on the admission portal at (https://admissions.highereduhry.ac.in). SMS alerts about the portal and website link have been sent to all 1.86 lakh eligible students, he added.

Sh. Dhanda said that the Haryana Government does not charge any tuition fee from girl students in government colleges. Similarly, Scheduled Caste (SC) students with an annual family income of less than Rs. 2.5 lakh are fully exempted from paying tuition fees and college funds—whether they are in government, government-aided, or self-financed institutions. The government also provides SC students studying in government colleges with a scholarship of Rs.12,000 and an additional Rs. 2,000 for books.

He said that to ensure transparency in the admission process, all applicants from Haryana must have a Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). In case a student makes a mistake during registration, they can cancel it by sending an email to (mailto:admissions@highereduhry.com) and then register again. Admissions will be given strictly based on merit, with the lists automatically generated by the system to maintain fairness and transparency. Haryana is a leading state in sports, and students with sports achievements will receive additional weightage in the admission process.

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Natural Farming is the need of the hour; Haryana takes initiative in this direction: Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana

Union Agriculture Minister Sh Shivraj Singh Chouhan holds virtual meeting with State Agriculture Ministers

‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan’ to be conducted nationwide from May 29 to June 12

Chandigarh, May 19 – Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh Shyam Singh Rana, emphasized that natural farming has become essential in today's time, and efforts have already been initiated in Haryana to promote this practice. He said that there has been a growing interest among farmers in adopting natural farming. This approach will not only help prevent environmental pollution but also preserve soil fertility, ensuring a sustainable supply of nutritious food for human life.

Sh Rana was giving his suggestions today, during a virtual dialogue organized by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Sh Shivraj Singh Chouhan with the Agriculture Ministers of the states, at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi.

He also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi, who, after launching the Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme to provide three installments of Rs 2,000 each per year to farmers for purchasing agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and seeds before the sowing of crops, has now taken another significant step. The Prime Minister has announced the launch of the 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan,' a nationwide campaign set to run from 29 May to 12 June. In Haryana, the Agriculture Department, Horticulture Department, Animal Husbandry Department, and Fisheries Department are actively involved in this campaign.

He informed that the campaign will be conducted in 1,380 villages across 109 blocks in 22 districts of Haryana. To ensure effective implementation, 55 teams have been formed, comprising agricultural scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, along with officials from the Animal Husbandry, Horticulture, and Fisheries Departments. As part of the program, farmer seminars will also be organized. To promote awareness about the campaign, three mobile publicity vehicles will be deployed in each district. Agriculture Minister Sh Shyam Singh Rana stated that during the campaign, farmers will be educated on the cultivation of crops such as paddy, millet, moong, jowar, sugarcane, cotton, sunflower, and vegetables. Additionally, emphasis will be placed on the rearing of high-yield indigenous breeds like Murrah and Bhadawari buffaloes, as well as Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Gir, and Rathi cows.

During the meeting, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Sh Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed the Agriculture Ministers of the states that the 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' is a major initiative by the Central Government aimed at boosting agricultural production. He emphasized that this country, its soil, and its farmers belong to all of us, and the collective goal is to make farming a profitable venture. The campaign seeks to increase food grain production, ensure national food security, strengthen reserves of grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables, and provide nutritious food to the people of the country.

Additional Chief Secretary of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Dr. Raja Sekhar Vundru; Commissioner and Secretary of the Fisheries Department, Smt Amneet P. Kumar; Director General of the Agriculture Department, Sh Rajnarayan Kaushik, along with several other senior officers, were present at the meeting.