AAP govt in Punjab to present its first budget on June 27
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Jun, 2022 12:17 PM
Chandigarh, June 7 (IANS) The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday approved summoning of the budget session of the 16th Vidhan Sabha from June 24 with the laying of the budget - the first of the AAP government - on June 27.
A decision in this regard was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Mann here.
The Chief Minister's Office said the Cabinet gave the nod for promulgation of the session from June 24 with obituary references and motion of thanks on the Governor's Address, followed by a discussion on it.
The Finance Minister will present the budget for 2022-23 on June 27 and the general discussion on the budget will take place thereafter. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General for 2018-19 and 2019-20 along with Financial and Appropriation Accounts for 2019-20 and 2020-21 will also be tabled during the session.
In order to save natural resources in terms of groundwater, besides improving soil health and generating additional income for the farmers, the Cabinet also gave the green signal for providing the minimum support price (MSP) on summer moong at Rs 7,275 per quintal for 2022-23 by Markfed, the state nodal agency for the purchase of crops.
It was also decided to provide viability gap funding to the agency at the rate of Rs 1,875 per quintal, amounting to nearly Rs 66.56 crore.
During the current season, moong is being sown on about 95,000 acres with an expected yield of five quintal per acre. This will help in sowing short duration varieties of paddy which is expected to save 10-20 per cent of underground water thereby conserving the natural resources.
In a much needed succour to street vendors hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cabinet also decided to waive stamp duty being levied on executing the loan or hypothecation agreement up to Rs 50,000 (third tranche loan) for the street vendors under PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme.
Modi thanked Heger for the assistance provided by Slovakia in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine, and for permitting special evacuation flights from India. He asked for Slovakia's continued assistance in the next few days with India undertaking a mission to evacuate other citizens from conflict zones.
Sidhu has urged the apex court not to punish him with a jail term in a 1988 road rage case in which he was let off with a meagre fine of Rs 1,000. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Gurnam Singh's family, submitted that he has moved an application seeking enlargement of the scope of the notice issued.
With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation in the country on Thursday, the Indian Embassy in Kiev has asked the Indian nationals to start moving towards the bordering areas so that they can be evacuated safely.
The Indian Embassy in Kiev stated that the helpline numbers are being set up at the respective check-points to facilitate evacuation through the borders. These control rooms will be based in Poland, Romania and Hungary and they will be managed by the Indian officials posted in those countries.
On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals.
An official spokesperson said the affected people or their relatives could call from within Punjab on helpline number 1100 and others from outside India on +91-172-4111905 for seeking information in this regard.
