Chandigarh, 03 April (H.S.)- Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann

on Friday presented a detailed report card of his government’s performance

under the “Shandaar Chaar Saal Bhagwant Mann De Naal” initiative, highlighting

a record-breaking achievement in public employment and governance reforms.

The Chief Minister announced that the state

government has provided 65,264 government jobs over the past four years — the

highest ever in Punjab’s history. He also noted that a five-year age relaxation

was granted to candidates to compensate for missed opportunities under previous

administrations.

Breaking down the employment figures, Mann

stated that 16,308 jobs were created in the education sector, 12,966 in Punjab

Police, 8,765 in the power department, 6,320 in health and medical education,

and 5,771 in local government bodies, along with thousands of additional posts

across other departments.

“Punjab is emerging as a digital hub, bringing

transparency in governance and opening new avenues of employment for the

youth,” Mann said while presenting the report. He added that the large-scale

recruitment has helped curb brain drain, benefiting young people from villages,

towns, and cities across the state.

Emphasising transparency, the Chief Minister

asserted that all recruitments were conducted strictly on merit without any

bribery or favouritism. “There were no paper leaks and none of the recruitment

processes were challenged in court,” he said. He further revealed that some

candidates secured jobs in multiple departments and that several youth even

returned from abroad to take up government employment.

Mann contrasted the current governance model

with that of previous regimes, alleging that earlier governments prioritised

family interests over public welfare. “Our government has worked for the

benefit of all, leading to nearly seven lakh jobs being generated even in the

private sector,” he claimed.

Highlighting skill development initiatives,

Mann said the government has launched the Hunar Vikas Mission, under which five

Multi-Skill Development Centres have been established in Amritsar, Bathinda,

Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana. Around 1.25 lakh youth have been trained

at these centres, out of which 73,250 have already been placed.

He added that partnerships have been signed

with global companies like Microsoft and IBM to provide training in emerging fields such

as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

In addition, 1,799 self-employment camps

facilitated loans for nearly 1.99 lakh youth to start their own ventures, while

6,724 placement camps and job fairs helped lakhs secure employment

opportunities.

The Chief Minister also highlighted efforts in

defence training, stating that 36,342 youth were trained for the Army, Navy,

Air Force, and paramilitary forces, with 5,509 successfully recruited. Prestigious

institutes like the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute

and Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute have played a key role in

grooming candidates, with a new institute set to open in Hoshiarpur soon.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH