In a major step towards realizing his government’s ambitious `Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ scheme, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday personally handed over appointment letters to 25 youth at the culmination of the recent Mega Job Fair at an Employers Meet, marked by the presentation of a total of 27000 appointment letters, including 3000 for government posts, to young men and women.On the occasion, the Chief Minister announced the signing of 34 MoUs providing employment to around 2.8 lakh youth, besides immediate recruitment of another 50000 people across various categories in government departments and organisations in the state.Speaking at the Appointment Letters Distribution Ceremony, the Chief Minister said the salary packages provided in the appointment letters presented today ranged from Rs. 1.25 lakh to Rs. 21 lakh per annum. He recalled starting his own Army career at a small amount of Rs 350 and seeing it grow over a period of time. With their hard work and dedication, they would also go far in their careers, he told the youth, wishing them all success in their future endeavours and expressing the confidence that they would do Punjab proud.
The Chief Minister lauded private institutions and government departments for making the 21 district-wise job fairs, organized as part of the Mega Job Fair, a huge success, and announced that the next Job Mela would be held in February 2018.Captain Amarinder Singh said Punjab was passing through difficult times, having faced the brunt of several wars and was a border state facing continuous threats from across the border. Despite these problems, his government was promoting a congenial atmosphere in the state, which would help boost the investment climate, thus paving the way for the creation of enormous job opportunities, he said.Reiterating his commitment to `Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ and `Karobaar’ for the state’s youth, the Chief Minister disclosed that his government had already signed 34 MoUs for facilitating 2.8 lakh jobs, with many more set to be generated as it implements its industry friendly initiatives. These MoUs have been signed by the Department of Industries & Commerce, Punjab with various industries and industrial organisations, including CII, Mohali Industries Association (Mohali), ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI, etc.. In addition, the Department of Employment Generation & Training has inked agreements with Ola and Uber.At the same time, the government had identified a total of around 50000 jobs for immediate recruitment, marking a beginning for large-scale recruitment across state departments and organisations, the Chief Minister said, as he unveiled the roadmap for implementing the `Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobaar Mission’, linking skills, employment and enterprise.
The Chief Minister called upon employers to capitalize on the opportunity being opened by his government and urged them to invest in Punjab’s human capital in the interest of the state’s collective progress. The programme was attended, among others, by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, Finance and Employment Generation Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Higher Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary, Media Advisor to CM Raveen Thukral, PPCC President Sunil Jakhar, MLAs Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh GP besides Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh. A large number of Captains of industry and representatives of Universities & Skill Training Agencies attended the event.Channi, in his introductory remarks, lauded the Chief Minister for bringing together various educational institutions and companies on one platform to fulfill his promise of employment for all. Expressing his gratitude to the Chief Minister for the excellent initiative, Channi said Captain Amarinder determined to facilitate every youth in Punjab to stand on his/her feet. He lashed out at the previous Akali government for failing to ensure the welfare and development of the youth in the state.In his brief address, Manpreet Badal described the event as a momentous one and a realization of the Congress poll promise to provide 5 lakh jobs every year in the state. Manpreet said development of infrastructure was meaningless unless the youth were equipped to compete with their peers at the international level, which was only possible through quality education. He lauded Captain Amarinder for honouring his promises to the people of Punjab and assured that, under the Chief Minister’s leadership, the state would be restored to its pristine glory.
The Chief Minister, said Manpreet, had transformed the atmosphere of the state, making it congenial for industry, and these efforts had started bearing fruit on the ground.Several government functionaries addressed the meeting and apprised the participants of the initiatives undertaken to create job opportunities and promote an enabling environment to boost industrial and skill development in the state. The government has decided to bring the Pollution Control Board under the Department of Industries for effective redressal of grievances of the industries, while, at the same time, maintaining a balance between the concerns of environment and industrial development. It has also decided to launch Startup@Punjab Mission next month to encourage youth to start their own enterprises and to strengthen the culture of Startup, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.As part of its `Business First - Invest Punjab’ philosophy, the state government is creating a simplified regulatory environment wherein an investor will be given all the necessary state level approvals/clearances to start a business on Day 1 on self-certification by concerned promoter to comply with all the regulations. This will not only expedite the implementation of investment proposals but will also ensure a hassle-free business conduct regime in Punjab.Among the other steps being taken by the government to promote industry-favourable environment in the state are power at Rs 5 per unit and abolition of truck unions, besides the new industrial policy expected to be announced soon.
A District Bureau of Employment and Enterprise will soon be set up to extend all the necessary assistance to the youth in finding jobs or setting up their own enterprises. The government also plans to set up Model Career Centers at Mohali, Ludhiana and Jalandhar in partnership with CII, besides strengthening the Ghar Ghar Rozgar portal to facilitate jobs for the youth. A plan is also on the anvil to set up a University of Vocational Education to bridge the gap between academic qualifications and vocational education and also between the industry and academia.State level placement drives twice a year through placement cells in the Department of Technical and Employment Generation will further augment the government’s efforts in employment generation.The Employers Meet saw enthusiastic participation from leading industry experts, including Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, India Council for Research on International Economics; Krish Iyer, India CEO, Walmart; Shri Paul Oswal, Chairman, Vardhman Textiles Ltd.; A.S. Mittal, Vice Chairman, International Tractors Limited (Sonalika Group); Rajinder Gupta, Chairman, Trident and Sarvjit Samra, Founder & Managing Director, Capital Small Finance Bank, among other eminent industry experts and leaders.Apart from the Employers and Industry from the State, representations from select prominent companies included ITC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), IBM India, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Max India Ltd, Apollo Hospitals, Startup Accelerator Chamber of Commerce among others. The event also had select invitees from the Sector Skill Councils, Skill Training Agencies and University representatives.The idea behind setting the stage with employers was to understand the gaps and concerns of industry in the existing labour pool and accordingly tailor the skill development and technical education programmes. The event covered the key sectors of employment generation such as manufacturing, construction, Retail, food processing, hospitality, IT and MSME amongst others.