Free travel for NEET aspirants in Punjab Roadways buses

The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday gave a nod to waive fares for all students travelling in Punjab Roadways buses to reach their respective centres for the NEET UG re-examination to be held on June 21. Additionally, the fare for one attendant accompanying each student will also be waived for travel on June 20, 21, and 22. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Addressing the media after the meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced the waiver, indicating that the cabinet aims to support students travelling in Punjab Roadways buses.

He lashed out at the BJP-led Centre, alleging that during its rule, exam papers were leaked 29 times in the country. Officials mentioned that to facilitate students and their attendants, Punjab Roadways, Punbus and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) buses will provide free travel to and from examination centres in Punjab and Chandigarh on June 20, 21 and 22. Students will only have to show their admit cards to avail the facility, and no fare will be charged from them. The financial liability of the free travel facility will be borne by the transport department and reimbursed by the Finance Department. The initiative reflects the Punjab Government's commitment to student welfare, encouraging education and ensuring affordable and accessible public transport services, they said. The NEET-UG re-examination will be held on June 21. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) held on May 3 was cancelled following allegations of irregularities in the examination process. In another cabinet decision, Cheema informed that an approval for 156 posts of junior engineers in the Public Works Department.

All posts will be filled through direct recruitment by the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB). Officials said the cabinet approved the filling of 1,013 sanctioned vacant posts, including backlog and newly created vacancies, in the Lecturer Cadre (Group B) through the Education Recruitment Directorate. Furthermore, a one-time relaxation of five years in the upper age limit has been granted for candidates applying for lecturer posts in the school education department. The move is aimed at creating employment opportunities for youth and further strengthening the quality of education in government schools, they said. To promote sustainable waste management and renewable energy generation, the cabinet approved the award of Wet Waste-Based Compressed Biogas (CBG) projects of 100 TPD (tonnes per day) capacity each at Municipal Corporations of Patiala and Jalandhar to HPCL Renewable and Green Energy Limited (HPRGE) on a nomination basis. Punjab generates nearly 4,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day across 166 Urban Local Bodies.

The projects will facilitate the 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, officials mentioned. In another significant decision aimed at further strengthening 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.