*Dr. Baljit Kaur Orders Statewide Awareness Drive to Maximise Coverage of Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students*

*Dedicated Helpdesk Email Introduced to Ensure Prompt Resolution of Students' Queries*

*District Authorities and Educational Institutions Directed to Provide End-to-End Assistance to Every Eligible Student*

*Punjab Government Urges Students to Apply Well Before the November 15 Deadline*

Chandigarh, August 25:With the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) students for the academic session 2026-27 already operational through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) since July 1, 2026, Punjab Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Dr. Baljit Kaur today directed district authorities to intensify awareness and facilitation efforts across the State to ensure that no eligible student is left out of the scheme due to lack of awareness, procedural hurdles or technical difficulties.

Reiterating the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government's commitment to making higher education accessible, equitable and affordable for every deserving student, Dr. Baljit Kaur said the scholarship scheme is aimed at ensuring that financial constraints do not become a barrier to pursuing higher education. She urged all eligible Scheduled Caste students to submit their applications well before the prescribed deadline and avail themselves of the benefits of the scheme.

To provide prompt assistance under the new online application system, the Minister announced a dedicated support email—pms.nspqueries2026@gmail.com. She said students facing any technical or procedural issues while submitting their applications through the National Scholarship Portal may send their queries to the email, where they will be addressed on priority. The initiative has been introduced to ensure a smooth, transparent and student-friendly application process and to make certain that no deserving student misses the scholarship due to avoidable technical issues.

Taking a serious view of effective implementation at the grassroots level, Dr. Baljit Kaur directed all District Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Officers to organize intensive awareness-cum-facilitation camps across urban, rural and remote areas. She instructed the officers to proactively identify eligible students, guide them through every stage of the online application process and closely monitor the campaign to ensure that every deserving beneficiary is covered under the scheme.

The Minister further directed the Directors of the Departments of Higher Education, Medical Education and Research, Technical Education and Industrial Training, School Education and Animal Husbandry, along with all universities, colleges and other educational institutions, to extend full cooperation to students in completing and submitting their scholarship applications. She emphasized that coordinated efforts by all stakeholder departments and institutions are essential to achieving maximum coverage under the scheme.

To ensure transparency, accountability and timely processing of applications, the Department has issued the following implementation schedule for the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the academic session 2026-27:

Implementation Schedule

- Scholarship Portal Operational From: July 1, 2026

- Last Date for Students to Submit Applications: November 15, 2026

- Deadline for Correction of Defective Applications: November 30, 2026

- Last Date for Institute-Level Verification: November 30, 2026

- Final Verification by DNO/SNO/MNO: December 15, 2026

Dr. Baljit Kaur reiterated that the Punjab Government remains committed to ensuring that every eligible Scheduled Caste student receives timely financial assistance to pursue higher education without financial constraints. She expressed confidence that the collective efforts of government departments, educational institutions and district authorities would ensure maximum outreach and that no deserving student is deprived of the benefits of the scholarship scheme.

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*Bhagwant Mann Govt's Harm-Reduction Services Strengthen Punjab’s 'Yudh Nashean Virudh'*

*547 OOAT, 47 OST Centres Providing Treatment and Harm-Reduction Support Across Punjab*

*Empathy, Treatment And Dignified Reintegration At The Core Of Punjab’s Harm-Reduction Approach: Dr Balbir Singh*

CHANDIGARH, August 25:Bhagwant Mann Government’s harm-reduction services, a key component‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’, are emerging as an important pillar of the state’s fight against substance abuse.

People suffering from substance use disorder (SUD) can avail harm reduction services through 547 Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centres run by the state’s health department and 47 Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) centres run by the Punjab State Aids Control Society, along with Targeted Intervention Services.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), harm reduction encompasses a range of interventions aimed at minimising the negative health and social consequences associated with drug use, including the transmission of HIV. Rather than focusing solely on drug use itself, harm reduction approaches identify and address the various risk factors associated with it to reduce potential harms. Evidence has demonstrated that, when implemented at sufficient scale and coverage, harm reduction interventions can prevent, slow, and even halt HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs. Their benefits also extend to preventing other blood-borne infections, including hepatitis B and C, reducing overdose deaths, lowering criminality, and addressing social exclusion.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh has described harm reduction as an essential component of the government’s comprehensive response to addiction. “We must approach victims with empathy and give them treatment and skills for dignified reintegration,” Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, underlining the government’s emphasis on bringing affected people back into the mainstream rather than allowing stigma to push them further away from treatment.

The state’s largest harm-reduction intervention is implemented through 500+ OOAT centres where patients can avail counselling and receive medication used to treat opioid use disorder and manage acute or chronic pain through a prescription issued by a government psychiatrist. This outpatient treatment strategy involves the provision of Buprenorphine (BPN) or a combination of BPN and Naloxone, as a medicine which mimics the action of addictive opioid drugs, but which is much safer to use, even for a long duration.

Patients visit an OOAT centre daily to receive their prescribed dosage or, upon meeting a certain criteria, are given home doses for a fixed number of days. According to Dr. Atul Ambekar, Professor at National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS Delhi, “This treatment, called Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) or Opioid Agonist Treatment is recommended as the first-choice strategy for long-term treatment of opioid dependence.”

Commenting on the nature of the treatment, Dr. Atul Ambekar further clarifies that “since the medicine provided under this treatment may also be addictive in nature, the strategy is often perceived, incorrectly, as substituting one addiction by another. People need to be made aware that many health conditions require taking a medicine every day, for a very long time (running into years and possibly life-long) and simply taking a pill daily, does not make one an ‘addict’.”

The programme focuses on educating drug users about the health risks associated with substance use and encouraging them to seek treatment. For those who continue to inject drugs, health teams provide counselling on safer injection practices, including why not to use syringes that have been used by someone else, and to follow safe injection practices that help reduce the risk of transmission of infections such as HIV and hepatitis.

The state has also been expanding treatment options which include oral substitution therapy, especially treatment through liquid methadone. Six dedicated methadone clinics are now operational in Faridkot, Ludhiana, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Jalandhar as an alternative to Buprenorphine. The state is also establishing six more methadone maintenance treatment centres, taking the total number of dedicated facilities to 12.

Health Minister Balbir Singh said, “Methadone maintenance therapy, implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), provides an effective treatment option for people with long-term opioid dependence. The comprehensive approach would improve recovery outcomes and help patients successfully reintegrate with their families and society.”

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*Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Directs Health Department to Provide ₹525 Per Vaccination Session Incentive to Contractual Multipurpose Health Workers*

*Contractual Multipurpose Health Workers to receive up to ₹2,100 additional monthly income through special incentive: Harpal Singh Cheema*

*Contract Multipurpose Health Worker Union thank Finance Minister for incentives, new uniform and tour allowances*

*Minister Harpal Singh Cheema chairs Cabinet Sub-Committee meetings with multiple employee unions including unions from Power Department*

CHANDIGARH; 25th August 2026:Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who also serves as Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to resolve employees' issues, on Tuesday directed the Health and Family Welfare Department to ensure the disbursement of a special incentive of ₹525 per vaccination session for contractual Multipurpose Health Workers, capped at a maximum of four sessions per month. Chairing a series of Cabinet Sub-Committee meetings to address employee grievances, the Finance Minister instructed concerned departments to expedite legitimate demands, service regularisation, and welfare issues across multiple employee unions.

During a meeting with representatives of the Contract Multipurpose Health Worker Union, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “This measure will provide an additional up to ₹2,100 directly to the monthly income of these personnel.” He further instructed the department to forward their case regarding the regularisation of services to the concerned committee for review.

The union representatives expressed their gratitude to the Finance Minister for the incentive, as well as for the introduction of the Uniform Allowance and Tour Allowance.

Meanwhile, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema held discussions with the Janglat Workers Union and the Punjab Pardesh Palledar Union. He directed the Forest Department to actively coordinate with the Personnel Department to address and resolve the legitimate demands of forest workers at the earliest. Additionally, he instructed the Food and Civil Supplies Department to address and amicably resolve all genuine concerns raised by the Palledar Union.

In a subsequent session, the Finance Minister met with representatives from various Power Department employee bodies, including the Powercom and Transco Theka Mulazam Union, the Outsourced Employees Federation, the Powercom Meter Reader Union Azad, the G.H.T.P Contractor Worker's Union (AITUC), and Sanjha Manch Thermal Contract Worker Union Ropar. The delegation submitted a charter of demands urging the state government to bring all remaining employee categories under the regularisation policy. They also pressed for timely salary enhancements and adequate compensation and social security measures in the event of workplace mishaps or fatal accidents. Giving a patient hearing to their concerns, Finance Minister Cheema assured the union representatives that the state government is sympathetically reviewing their demands and will take appropriate action at the earliest.

During the meetings Sarbjit Kaur, Satinder Kaur, Prabhdeep Kaur and Amrik Singh Mohali from Contract Multipurpose Health Worker Union; Balihar Singh from the Powercom and Transco Theka Mulazam Union; Kuljit Singh from the Outsourced Employees Federation; Gurwinder Singh from the Powercom Meter Reader Union Azad; Sukhwinder Singh from the G.H.T.P Contractor Worker's Union (AITUC); Balwinder Singh Saini from the Sanjha Manch Thermal Contract Worker Union; Amrik Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Amandeep Singh and Sulakhan Singh from Janglat Workers Union, and Amarjit Singh, Dhanna Singh, Gurdhian Singh, Randhir Singh and Karamjit Singh from Punjab Pardesh Palledar Union raised their issues and concerns.

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*Gurmeet Singh Khudian hands over job letters to four new recruits in Animal Husbandry Dept*

*•Khudian urges new appointees to serve with dedication & integrity*

Chandigarh, August 25:Punjab Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Tuesday handed over appointment letters to four newly recruited candidates in the department here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat. The appointees include three clerks and one Group-D employee.

Congratulating the newly appointed employees, S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian urged them to discharge their duties with dedication, utmost integrity and a strong sense of public service, while emphasising that honesty and transparency are the cornerstones of effective governance.

He said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led- Punjab government had provided over 69,000 government jobs across various departments since assuming office. “We are not just filling vacancies, we are building a stronger and more efficient administration.We are moving at a historic pace to ensure that every eligible youth gets an opportunity to contribute to Punjab's development,” S. Khudian said.

Director Animal Husbandry Mr. Paramdeep Singh Walia and other Senior officials of the department were also present on the occasion.