Punjab allows foreign players to invest in state's health sect

Punjab Cabinet today gave nod to allow foreign players to invest in health care sector including setting up hospitals in the upcoming Medicity project at Mullanpur in Mohali here.
The decision was taken in a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here today.
To encourage participation of foreign key players in the medical health care and research, the Cabinet gave approval to amend the Land Allotment Policy-2014 for allotment of plots for setting up hospitals, multi-speciality hospitals, medical colleges-cum-hospital and medical research institutes in the upcoming Medicity at Mullanpur which is also known as New Chandigarh, spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said today.

The amended policy allows participation of 100 per cent owned subsidiaries, joint ventures floated by foreign health institutions.
It also allows the subsidiary of any parent company to apply for allotment on behalf of the parent company, he said.
However, the interested foreign players must fulfil the terms and conditions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and FDI in conformity with the guidelines of Government of India and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), he said.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal to create modern warehousing facility by establishing silos with 15 lakh Metric tonne (MT) of storage capacity by the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation.

Except for 2.75 lakh Metric tonne capacity, the existing storage capacity in Punjab is in the form of conventional covered warehouses and open plinths.
The traditional system of storage has inherent short comings related to shelf life and quality of grains and requirement of land, he said.
Steel Silos provide a viable and scientific alternative option for bulk storage of grains due to various benefits such as assured shelf life for more than three years, easier grains management, one third land requirement compared to traditional warehouses and much lesser risk of pilferage, he said.
The Punjab State Warehousing Corporation would create steel silos having capacity of 15 lakh MT.

This new silos steel storage capacity would be created as per policy guidelines of FCI and Government of India, he said.
To provide better facilities to the sportsperson of the state under its comprehensive sports policy, the Cabinet also decided to make provision of 125 posts in the police department for the players who have won medals at Olympics, Asian, Commonwealth Games, World Cup and other National/ International Competitions.
Ten posts will be of Deputy Superintendents of Police, 50 Sub Inspectors and 65 Constables and all these posts will be kept out of the preview of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) and Punjab State Subordinate Services Selection Board (SSSB) and will be filled on the recommendation of the screening committee to be constituted by the state government.