Haryana State PCS

• 29 Sep 2022

Haryana-Saskatchewan Round Table Conference

Why In News?

• On September 28, 2022, Haryana-Saskatchewan Round Table Conference was held in Chandigarh to identify new opportunities, strategic partnerships, facilities, support and strengthen mutual relations and interests of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Key Points

• The Haryana-Saskatchewan Roundtable was jointly organized by the Department of Foreign Cooperation and the Saskatchewan India Office, Canada High Commission.
• It is to be noted that under the leadership of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, the state government has constituted a separate Department of Foreign Cooperation to increase foreign investment in Haryana.
• The State Foreign Cooperation Department is constantly in touch with foreign countries and meetings are held with investors to promote investment in the state through different programs. In this episode, the Haryana-Saskatchewan Round Table Conference was organized.
• Speaking at the conference, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Foreign Cooperation, Yogendra Chaudhary said that the Haryana government is committed to strengthen relations with Saskatchewan in the areas of skill development, academic research, trade, exports and parliamentary exchanges.
• He said that full support would be provided to Canadian companies willing to invest in Haryana as well as investors from Haryana willing to invest in Canada.
• Anant Prakash Pandey, Director General and Secretary, Department of Foreign Cooperation, said that this conference is an important step towards the MoI signed in March 2022 between the Department of Foreign Cooperation, Government of Haryana and the Ministry of Trade and Export Promotion of Saskatchewan Province, Canada.
• The conference has provided an appropriate platform to bring together stakeholders to establish a strategic partnership under the said agreement.
• Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Mission in India Richel said that there are many similarities in the development journey of Saskatchewan and Haryana. Both the provinces have immense potential to take advantage of each other's strengths to meet the common goal of economic development in different regions.

Chandigarh International Airport Renamed as Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport

Why In News?

• On 28 September 2022 Chandigarh International Airport was renamed as Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh on the occasion of 115th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The name was officially inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Key Points

• Chandigarh International Airport could not be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh for 14 years due to politics in the name of Mohali-Chandigarh. The governments of both Haryana and Punjab had agreed to name the airport after Sardar Bhagat Singh, but the Punjab government wanted to put Mohali behind it and the Haryana government did not want to change Chandigarh.
• It is worth noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio program 'Mann Ki Baat' on September 25 had announced to name the Chandigarh International Airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
• It is known that Chandigarh International Airport Limited is a joint venture of Airport Authority of India (AAI), Government of Punjab and Haryana. AAI holds 51 per cent stake in the project, while Punjab and Haryana government has 24.5 and 24.5 per cent. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 11, 2015.
• At present, 82 flights are operating from Chandigarh International Airport. There are direct flights from this airport to Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kullu, Pune, Leh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Hisar, Dehradun. While only two international flights are available from this airport to Dubai and Sharjah.

Government School Located in Barola of Ambala District will be Named After Shaheed Karnail Singh or His Wife

Why In News?

• On September 28, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced to name the middle school located at village Barola in Ambala district of the state after Shaheed Karnail Singh Benipal or his wife Charanjit Kaur.

Key Points

• Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant while addressing a press conference in Chandigarh said that the road leading to Goa International Airport will be named after the martyr Karnail Singh Benipal of Haryana who sacrificed his life for the independence of Goa.
• Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant met Mrs. Charanjit Kaur, wife of Shaheed Karnail Singh Benipal at Barola village in Ambala district and presented her with a citation and a check of Rs.10 lakh from the Government of Goa.
• Dr. Pramod Sawant said that a memorial is being built in the memory of the martyrs at Patradevi, Goa in the memory of the known and unknown martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence of Goa. A statue of Shaheed Karnail Singh Benipal has also been made in the government school of Patradevi.
• Ambala MLA Aseem Goel said that the school will be named after the one whose name will be passed by the Barola Panchayat.