Chandigarh, Oct 21 (IANS) In a major decision, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday approved restoration of the old pension scheme for the government employees.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said a decision to this effect was taken in meeting of Cabinet, with Mann in the chair, here.
The spokesperson said the employees will be given option for adopting the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme. The old pension scheme was discontinued in 2004 and ever since then the employees are being given the new pension scheme.
However, the employees have been since long demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Keeping in view the well-being of the lakhs of employees, the Cabinet has decided to restore the old pension scheme, a major relief to the employees.
Realising that the employees are the backbone of the government, the state has taken this historic decision which is likely to benefit all category of the employees, the spokesperson said.
Also, the Cabinet decided to give six per cent dearness allowance (DA) to government employees and pensioners with effect from October 1.
The Council of Ministers opined that the employees were a critical segment of the state administration and safeguarding their interests was the government's top priority, the spokesperson said.
The NIA had been mulling action against big gangsters like Bishnoi, Kapil Sangwan and Neeraj Bawana and their aides. The Union Home Ministry had asked the NIA to uproot their entire network as they were involved in targeted killings and were acting like terrorists.
The Chief Minister said investigation into the case was almost completed.. Phogat had come to Goa on August 22 and was staying at a hotel in Anjuna. She felt uneasy that night and the next morning, she was taken to the St. Anthony's hospital where she was declared brought dead.
The government provides free power to 13.88 lakh farmers of the state for their grid connected tubewells for irrigation and bears the expenditure of approximately Rs 7,000 crore as subsidy being paid to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL).
The incident occurred at Thondamathur in Coimbatore district. Tamil Nadu fire and rescue department and local police are engaged in the process to lift the vehicle from the well-using cranes. Police said that rash driving could be the reason for the accident.
The US Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will explore partnerships with the Indian education sector during the delegation visits to Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi between September 12-16. The delegation will comprise representatives of 21 US HEIs from 15 US states which will go around the three major Indian cities, against the backdrop of India's New Education Policy-2020.
The national flag will be flown at half-mast on Sunday throughout India and there will be no official entertainment programme on that day, a statement issued by the government said on Friday. Britain is observing 10-day state mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. Britain's royal family will observe a period of mourning that will end on the seventh day after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
