Punjab cabinet clears free bus travel for NEET aspirants, recruitment for 1,169 posts

Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved free bus travel for NEET aspirants and one attendant, recruitment of 1,013 lecturers and 156 junior engineers, and a series of measures relating to waste management, industrial growth and civil services reforms.An official said students appearing for the NEET-UG re-examination on June 21 will be allowed free travel in Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC buses between June 20 and 22 on production of their admit cards. One attendant accompanying each candidate will also be eligible for the facility.Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said around 28,000 students from Punjab are expected to appear for the examination. The cost of the initiative will be borne by the transport department and reimbursed by the finance department.The cabinet also approved the filling of 1,013 vacant lecturer cadre posts, including backlog and newly created vacancies, through the education recruitment directorate. A one-time relaxation of five years in the upper age limit for applicants was also approved.In another decision, the cabinet cleared recruitment of 156 junior engineers in the public works department, including 127 civil and 29 electrical posts, through the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board.To promote scientific waste management and renewable energy generation, the cabinet approved two wet waste-based compressed biogas (CBG) projects of 100 tonnes per day capacity each in Patiala and Jalandhar. The projects will be executed by HPCL Renewable and Green Energy Ltd. Punjab generates nearly 4,000 tonnes per day of municipal solid waste across 166 urban local bodies. The projects will facilitate scientific processing of wet waste, reduce landfill burden, improve urban sanitation and public health, generate renewable energy and organic manure, reduce methane emissions and promote a circular economy.The cabinet also approved amendments to the Punjab Civil Services Rules to address seniority disputes where candidates have identical merit and date of birth. In such cases, seniority will now be determined on the basis of marks or grading obtained in the minimum educational qualification prescribed for the post.BOXINDUSTRIAL POLICY AMENDED TO BOOST INVESTMENTTo strengthen Punjab's industrial ecosystem, the cabinet approved amendments to the Industrial & Business Development Policy 2026 and various sectoral policies under the ‘Punjab Udyog Kranti' initiative. The amendments provide that fiscal incentives will apply to existing industrial units instead of only existing MSMEs. They also strengthen provisions relating to industrial clusters, research and development facilities, and environment-friendly technologies.An incentive of Rs 10 lakh for the first 50 eligible units will now include industries achieving minimum Gold Level ZED Certification or higher, while provisions relating to overall incentive caps in sectoral policies will be treated as indicative and non-statutory.