The Union Minister for Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal today called upon the educational institutes to introduce courses in food processing in sync with the burgeoning demand and opportunities in this industry. While inaugurating third international fest of Baba Farid Group of Institutes, Mrs Badal said that her ministry is setting up food processing training-cum-business incubation center at PAU Regional Center in Bathinda, which would train farmers to add value to their food products. “There is a wide horizon of opportunities in this sector and educational institutes can immensely contribute by offering courses in this context,” she said.
Addressing gathering at the institute she said that the Punjab government’s Save the Daughters Campaign has found resonance in center government’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. “The Punjab government’s campaign in saving the girl child has one a long way in improving state’s sex ratio and today the center government too has followed it in the form of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign,” she said.Commending the efforts of Punjab government in improving education in state, she added that Punjab has leaped from 14th position in India to third in the last seven years. The state government recruited 65000 teachers and invested crores in creating infrastructure to raise the standard of education. She added that the initiative of opening six meritorious schools in state for the needy and intelligent students has given a new lease of life to the children from poor families. The state now boasts of nine new universities, 17 new colleges, IIT, proposed IIM and an education city coming up in 1000 acres of land in Chandigarh.
Answering a media query on the issue of drugs in state, the Union Minister said that need of hour was to formulate a uniform drug policy which was equally applicable in state. She said that the narcotics were neither grown nor manufactured in Punjab and instead the state had become innocent victim of wrong allegations.Speaking against the social evil of female feticide she said that the daughters have every right to take birth, have the right nutrition, study and progress ahead in society. She advocated providing the best of opportunities to our daughters so that they could move ahead in life. She said like the womb, the mother earth too needs to be protected and all of us should take onus of taking care of at least one tree every year.Prominent among others present included Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr Mantar Singh Brar, Manish Kumar OSD to the Union Minister, Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg, SSP Mr Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti, media advisor to deputy CM Mr Harjinder Sidhu, managing director Baba Farid Group of Institutes Mr Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, BJP president Mr Gurvinder Singh Bhagta, SDM Bathinda Mr Damanjit Singh Maan, DDPO Mr Rajinder Batra, SAD press secretary Dr Om Prakash Sharma and others.