A senior assistant editor, Navneet Sharma leads the Punjab bureau for Hindustan Times. He writes on politics, public affairs, civil services and the energy sector.
Articles by Navneet Sharma
Punjab gets ₹1,298 cr for school education, Centre flags dropout spike
Samagra Shiksha Scheme: The Centre has flagged the increase in the school dropout rate and teacher vacancies at the secondary level in the state
Updated on May 23, 2023 12:50 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Jalandhar bypolls: Breach of bastion a blow for Congress
The loss in the crucial byelection to the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency is a huge setback for the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
Updated on May 13, 2023 10:13 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll: Big boost for AAP ahead of 2024 LS polls
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party proved its mettle in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll on Saturday by routing the Congress in its Dalit bastion for the first time in 24 years
Updated on May 13, 2023 08:53 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
2022-23 fiscal: Punjab: Salary, subsidy bill was 8% more than budget estimates
Punjab saw its expenditure on salaries, pensions and subsidies exceed the budget estimates by 8% during the financial year 2022-23, while revenue receipts fell short of the target.
Updated on May 11, 2023 10:39 PM IST
Jalandhar bypoll: Stakes high, Congress puts up united face
The entire state leadership of the Congress has united behind party candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, the wife of sitting MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary whose death necessitated the bypoll, in its effort to retain the reserved seat
Updated on May 05, 2023 01:23 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Bill Leyao, Inaam Pao: To boost tax revenue, Punjab govt to give ‘lucky’ consumers rewards up to ₹50k
The Punjab government is gearing up to roll out a new scheme, ‘Bill Leyao, Inaam Pao’ (Bring a bill, Get a reward), under which ‘lucky customers’ can receive rewards up to ₹50,000 by submitting receipts of their purchases to the taxation department.
Updated on May 01, 2023 09:55 PM IST
Punjab govt ups spending limit of depts, says focus on priority areas
The Punjab government, which presented the ₹1.96 lakh-crore budget on March 10, has decided to stagger the expenditure over the year, allowing the departments to spend up to 50% of their budgetary allocation in the first six months of this financial year and the balance in the remaining period, two officials aware of the development said
Updated on Apr 26, 2023 02:01 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Jalandhar bypoll result will be verdict on our govt’s performance: Harpal Cheema
AAP’s Jalandhar election in-charge and Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema says they are 100% confident that they will emerge victorious
Updated on Apr 21, 2023 01:04 AM IST
PSIEC plot: Industries dept mum on Punjab VB’s recommendation
The vigilance bureau made the recommendation in a demi-official letter to chief secretary VK Janjua on March 2, stating that the state government should revoke the allotment to Signify Innovations under Section (4) (20) and Section 3 (1) of the conveyance deed
Updated on Apr 19, 2023 01:11 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Year on, no word from Punjab government on 6th finance panel recommendations
The the 6th State Finance Commission (SFC) headed by former chief secretary KR Lakhanpal had submitted the report to Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 in the last week of March 2022
Updated on Apr 13, 2023 01:14 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab assembly: Stormy scenes after Cong adjournment motion on law & order disallowed
The budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha resumed post-recess on a stormy note on Wednesday with members of the opposition Congress raising slogans in the well of the House after their adjournment motion on law and order was disallowed.
Updated on Mar 22, 2023 10:32 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab assembly declares Himachal Pradesh’s move on water cess ‘illegal’
In the absence of opposition Congress MLAs, unanimously adopts resolution against neighbouring hill state, recommends to state govt to request Centre to prevail upon hill state to withdraw decision
Published on Mar 22, 2023 04:01 PM IST
Punjab assembly: Oppn Congress guns for AAP govt on law and order
Opposition Congress MLAs walk out of the House, raising slogans against Speaker and CM Bhagwant Mann when their adjournment motion on law and order was disallowed
Updated on Mar 22, 2023 11:43 AM IST
One year at helm: Roller-coaster year for AAP govt in Punjab
With mandate for badlav (change), Bhagwant Mann’s government scores on intent to deliver on its populist promises, but misses in action whether it’s reining in radicals or maintaining law and order, while it struggles to fight the drug problem and fiscal troubles.
Published on Mar 15, 2023 07:38 PM IST
Punjab education minister orders principal secy-level probe into teachers eligibility test goof-up
Harjot Singh Bains says accountability will be fixed and guilty will be booked for criminal negligence after GNDU, Amritsar cancels Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test after most correct answers in social studies question paper were marked in bold
Updated on Mar 13, 2023 12:28 PM IST
Big push for agriculture, education, health in Punjab budget
No new taxes, 26% hike in allocation over last year as Punjab budget focuses on agriculture, education, health
Published on Mar 11, 2023 01:59 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab budget: Five key takeaways
Chandigarh : Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, like some of his predecessors, started his stint by talking about the ‘empty coffers’ left by the previous government and even brought out a ‘white paper’ on the debt-laden state’s finances
Published on Mar 11, 2023 01:39 AM IST
Punjab FM presents ₹1,96,462-cr budget, 26% increase in outlay
₹13,888 crore has been allocated for agriculture and allied activities, which is 20% more than the amount earmarked in the previous year; new agriculture policy on anvil, says Harpal Singh Cheema
Updated on Mar 10, 2023 04:15 PM IST
Allotment of industrial plots: Punjab Vigilance seeks wide-ranging probe into politician-official-land mafia nexus
In fresh trouble for Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has recommended an extensive enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the allotment, regularisation, and bifurcation of industrial plots to break the nexus between politicians, officials, and land mafia.
Published on Mar 09, 2023 11:10 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
‘Threatening posture’: Punjab Cong MLAs to boycott CM till he apologises
A day after chief minister Bhagwant Mann and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa sparred in the state assembly over the functioning of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), the Congress on Tuesday announced its decision to “boycott” Mann in the House till the time he apologised for his “threatening posture” towards its members.
Published on Mar 07, 2023 10:50 PM IST
AAP, Cong slug it out over Punjab guv’s ‘my government’ remark
The budget session of the Punjab assembly on Friday saw heated exchanges between members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress over governor Banwarilal Purohit referring to the Bhagwant Mann government as “my government” that eventually led to a walkout by MLAs of the opposition party.
Published on Mar 03, 2023 08:30 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab assembly’s budget session gets off to rocky start
Governor Banwarilal Purohit delivers speech amid Congress walkout over his addressing the Bhagwant Mann government as “my government”
Updated on Mar 03, 2023 02:44 PM IST
Restructure PSIEC, re-examine plot re-allotments, vigilance tells industries dept
The vigilance department recommended restructuring and re-engineering of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation for better accountability and transparency, besides seeking re-examination of the re-allotment of old industrial plots done by the corporation in the past 10 years.
Updated on Feb 28, 2023 10:22 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
‘Budget session only after legal advice’: Punjab governor Purohit drops another letter bomb
Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit responds terming chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s response as “unconstitutional” and “derogatory”
Updated on Feb 24, 2023 02:20 AM IST
Govt rewards loyalists, appoints them in loss-making defunct undertakings
On a spree to accommodate its loyalists, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab appointed some of them as chairmen of public sector enterprises that have been either incurring losses or are virtually non-functional.
Published on Feb 17, 2023 10:58 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Schools of Eminence: 117 schools shortlisted , Govt fast-tracks upgrade of 4 Amritsar schools
Days after it shortlisted 117 existing schools for the flagship ‘Schools of Eminence’ Scheme, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has set the ball rolling for upgrading four of these schools in Amritsar district on priority.
Updated on Feb 08, 2023 11:52 PM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab govt likely to fall short of revenue targets this fiscal year
The revenue receipts of the state government in the first nine months stood at 63% of the target for the current year, according to the data on fiscal indicators for the April-December 2022 period released by the comptroller and auditor general (CAG)
Published on Feb 04, 2023 01:39 AM IST
Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Samagra Shiksha programme: Centre proposes ₹1,181 crore allocation for Punjab next fiscal
The Union ministry of education has proposed an allocation of ₹1,181.30 crore for Punjab in the financial year 2023-24 under the centrally sponsored Samagra Shiksha programme for school education.
Published on Feb 02, 2023 11:50 PM IST
First batch of Punjab govt school principals headed for Singapore
36 principals will attend professional teacher training seminar from February 6 to 10: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann
Published on Feb 02, 2023 01:51 PM IST
Punjab AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap quits assembly panel over differences on sacrilege probe
The former IPS officer, who has been airing differences with the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in Punjab over its handling of the 2015 sacrilege cases from time to time, sent his resignation to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary on Tuesday night.
Updated on Jan 25, 2023 12:12 PM IST
