To facilitate aspiring economically backward students from the state to get into the Armed Forces, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday decided that the State would bear the cost of poor students, admitted to Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (MRSAFPI), Mohali, for their Class XI & XII education.The Institute has tied up with a reputed private school in Mohali for education of students who clear its entrance examination. Forty such students are currently selected for their senior secondary school education by the Institute, but they are required to pay their own school fee of Rs. 45,000 a year. With the Chief Minister’s directive, poor and deserving students who are admitted to the Institute basis an entrance exam will also be able to join the Mohali school, said an official spokesperson after the 4th Governing Body Meeting of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute.To meet the additional expenses thus incurred, the Chief Minister also asked the Finance Department to examine its proposal for additional funds of Rs. 9.5 crore, in addition to the 8.5 crore, for making up the required corpus of Rs. 18 crore.In another move aimed at motivating and preparing youngsters to join the Armed Forces, the Chief Minister also directed the Director General to formulate a proposal, in consultation with the Secretary School Education, to set up Cadet Training Wings in select government schools, in line with the plan to establish such Wings in some private schools.At today’s meeting, the Chief Minister asked the Finance Department to sanction requisite funds to establish the Cadet Training Wings at the selected private schools in Patiala, Mohali, Sangrur, Beas and Nabha to impart training to the students for joining NDA. Thereafter, Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi suggested expanding the programme, wherein the Institute will send trainers to the selected schools, also of government schools.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister directed the Institute’s Director General to explore, with the CEO PEDA, the possibility of installation of 50 KW rooftop solar power generation unit at a cost of Rs. 26 lakh.In another move, the Chief Minister asked the Finance Department to review the proposal of Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for Girls, Mohali, during its Governing Body meeting for enhancing the Institute’s corpus so as to make it financially self-sustainable. Regarding the installation of drip irrigation system and a shallow bore-well in the Institute at a cost of total Rs. 13.20 lakh, the Chief Minister asked the Director General to take up this issue with the Chief Conservator of Soils as the department of Soil Conservation gives subsidy on it. With regard to the repair and maintenance of the Institute, the Chief Minister directed the Secretary Employment Generation and Training to take up the matter with the PWD B&R department to ensure its timely periodic repairs and maintenance.Incidentally, the-state-of-the art Institute was started in 2011 with an intake capacity of 40 students. As many as 134 cadets have been sent to various service academies so far from the first seven batches. The Institute has been credited with securing All India Rank 1 in NDA merit list on two occasions, besides once Rank 1 in the merit list of Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai. Cadets from the Institute have been performing well and winning awards, with 58 cadets having been commissioned as officers so far and 25 having joined various academies.Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also chaired the 3rd Governing Council meeting of the Centre for Training and Employment of Punjab Youth (C-Pyte), aimed at providing opportunities to the unemployed youth in the armed forces, central paramilitary forces and Punjab Police. He asked the C-Pyte Director General to rationalize the existing camps and also explore the establishment of more permanent camps in other areas, including Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Fazilka, Sangrur and Rupnagar, in order to exploit optimum potential of the unemployed youth and enable them to be gainfully employed in the defence and state police services.
Notably, the C-pyte has been mandated to organize and conduct training of Punjab youth hailing from different economic strata and educational backgrounds, with the primary aim to ensure their gainful employment. During their training with C-PYTE, the youth are provided an opportunity to improve their physical fitness standards and educational knowledge. At present C-pyte is running at four permanent camps at Kaljharani, Talwara, Theh Kanjla and Hakumat Singh Wala, besides 11 temporary camps at Dera Baba Nanak, Ranike, Patti, Ludhiana, Nawan Shahr, Borewal, Nabha, Shaheedgarh, Lalru, Nangal and Kairon, with a total intake capacity of over 2000 youth. Prominent amongst others present in the meeting were CM’s Senior Advisor Lt. Gen. T.S. Shergill, CM’s Media Advisor Raveen Thukral, CM’s Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary Planning Jaspal Singh, Principal Secretary Higher Education Anurag Verma, CA GMADA Kavita Mohan Singh, Divisional Commissioner Patiala Deepinder Singh, Divisional Commissioner Faridkot R.K. Kaushi, Divisional Commissioner Ferozepur Division Sumer Singh Gurjar, Secretary Expenditure V.N. Zade, Secretary Employment Generation and Training Rahul Tiwari, Special Principal Secretary to CM Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Director Employment Generation & Training Keshav Hingonia, DG C-Pyte Major General Rajiv Edwards, Director MRSAFPI Major General B.S. Grewal, Director Mai Bhago AFPI Major General IP Singh, MD PESCO Brig. I.S. Gakhal and Additional Director Employment Generation Rajdeep Kaur.