NAVAL ACADEMY : PUNJAB
Jalandhar, April 24
To ensure greater induction of Punjabi youth in the armed forces, the government has decided to set up the first naval academy in the state.
Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said the proposal would be cleared in the coming days and financial allocations would be made soon. The academy would come up either at Ropar or Bathinda both of which have the requisite water bodies and allied infrastructure, he said.“At present, Bihar topped the list of naval personnel while Punjab only has a small percentage of officers and men in the Navy,” he pointed out.Badal was in the city to oversee the preparations by the Jalandhar Sainik Welfare Board to help 104 aspirants get into the armed forces. Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Jagbir Brar accompanied him.Another step taken by the government in this context was setting up of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Academy in SAS Nagar at a cost of Rs 8 crore.
The financial allocation had been made in the Budget and construction would start on the 40-acre plot soon, he added.“Similarly, decks have also been cleared for setting up of a second sainik school in Gurdaspur. The land required for the purpose has been selected and the proposal has also been forwarded to the Centre. Haryana already has two such schools and we are certain that the nod would be given to us in the coming days,” he said.The Finance Minister said the government was committed to set up more such institutes in the future so that a certain number of youth inducted into the armed forces every year.Earlier, he lauded the efforts being made by Lt Col Manmohan Singh (retd), deputy director, Sainik Welfare, for preparing youngsters to get into the armed forces and said the latter had also been given the mandate to ensure that the state should sent the maximum number of officers to the armed forces.
He also assured that he would release the funds for a new National Defence Academy Block, which would come up on the premises of the board, in the next week. Other problems being faced by the board would be resolved soon, he said.
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