Punjab: The week gone by

On the other hand, a delegation of SAD-BJP members met President Pratibha Patil to discuss the safety of Sikhs in J&K.

Also, Punjab & Sind Bank filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for its initial public offer (IPO).

Development projects announced
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal unveiled a plan to set up naval academy near Ropar to impart training to youth.

Badal also announced that they have prepared a plan to generate additional power of more than 10400 MWs by setting up four new thermal plants at Rajpura, Talwandi Sabo, Goindwal Sahib and Gidderbaha. He said that the Powercom had signed a MoU with the India Bulls for setting up another 1320 MW thermal plant at Mansa.

The chief minister even laid the foundation stone of Rs.99.50 lac swimming pool in the Satluj Park and Rs 4.60 crore Common Effluent Treatment Plant at village Brari, near Nangal.

Further, Badal announced Rs.3.50 crore ITI to the people at Sri Anandpur Sahib and also laid the foundation stone of post graduate complex at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, Sri Anandpur Sahib.

On the education front, the government also confirmed the opening of a Punjab Urdu Academy at Malerkotla, on similar lines of the Delhi Urdu Academy, for the promotion of Urdu language, literature and ethnicity.

This was decided in a meeting of the General Council of Punjab Urdu Academy that was presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh.

Separately, to prevent flood crisis in the state, Badal stated that he would soon talk to his counterpart in Himachal Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal about the channelization of river swan.

And later, the duo will ask the centre to take up the project ahead.

Deputy CM meets President to discuss J&K issue
Shiromani Akali Dal President, and Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal sought Centre’s help to protect the Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir. The Sikhs in the region have received threats to either change their religion to Islam or leave the state.

A delegation of SAD-BJP members of Parliament, including Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Rattan Singh Ajnala, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sher Singh Ghubaya, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Avinash Rai Khanna, and Naresh Gujral, met President Pratibha Patil and demanded assurance of safety of Sikhs in J&K.

They submitted a memorandum to the president to “draw her attention to the widespread feelings of anguish, concern and alarm in the minds of the members of the brave and patriotic Sikh community over reported threats issued to them by some organizations in the state of Jammu and Kashmir."

As these threats cannot be avoided, the government demanded interference of top officials in the matter.

Punjab & Sind Bank to raise 600 crore through IPO
The state owned Punjab & Sind Bank filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for its initial public offer (IPO). The bank plans to raise around Rs 600 crore through IPO.

The bank proposes to issue Rs 4 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at price that will be discovered through a 100 percent book building process.

The IPO is likely to hit the market in November end or early December, if it gets regulatory clearance on time. The bank has appointed SBI Capital, ICICI Securities and Enam Securities as the merchant bankers for its proposed IPO.

PUNMEDIA to publish magazines
The Punjab State Media Society (PUNMEDIA) announced that it will soon publish three top-notch magazines, which will inform the general public about the developments in the state.

Punjab Information and Public Relations Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan met the Board of Governors of the newly formed PUNMEDIA society on Wednesday and said that the first task for the society was to come up with nicely-designed magazines, describing the strategies, programmes and accomplishments by the Punjab government.

He also asked the Board of Governors to appoint three renowned journalists as the editors of the three magazines in English, Hindi and Punjabi, and said that this will ensure that the work is done in a professional manner.