In brief

Fortis to set up 200-bed hospital in city
Fortis Healthcare Limited on Thursday announced the setting up of a 200-bedded hospital in Ludhiana and a 100-bed hospital in Kangra,Himachal Pradesh. Both these hospitals are being set up under the ‘asset light model’ (land and building will be taken on lease). The tertiary care hospital at Ludhiana will be Fortis’s third hospital in Punjab following the ones in Mohali and Amritsar. The superspeciality hospital is in advanced stages of planning and designing and is expected to be commissioned in 18 to 24 months.

Young scientist award for former PAU student  
Dr Pallavi Mittal,who completed her PhD in genetics at School of Agricultural Biotechnology in PAU,was conferred the Young Scientist Award by Punjab Academy of Sciences at the 13 th Punjab Science Congress held at Panjab University,Chandigarh,recently. Dr Mittal’s research paper titled ‘Genetic engineering of sugarcane for developing insect resistance’ was adjudged the best in the scientific session for agriculture,environment,biotechnology and biosciences. The award was presented by Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil at the valedictory function.

Students protest against fee hike
The students of GGN Khalsa College went on strike on Thursday to protest against the mid-session fee hike for students of Commerce. Chief of the college unit of National Students’ Union of India Harpreet Singh and vice-president Gursimranjit Singh Mundi said,” The college management committee has increased the fee for all B.Com students with immediate effect. The students have shown their resentment and soon other students from other streams will also join the strike.” The college management has assured a meeting with the students’ representatives on Saturday.

‘Make every scholar an entrepreneur’
Premier institutions like Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University can show the state the art of making “every scholar an entrepreneur”,said acclaimed agricultural scientist Dr M S Swaminathan on Thursday. Swaminathan is also the chairman of the National Farmers’ Commission (NCF). “The future of the country lies in the revival of the glory of farming,a sector that has not only grown quantitatively but also holds the potential to produce a new category of entrepreneurs to stimulate growth,” he said. He said at a time when the contribution of crop husbandry in the agriculture GDP was either stagnant or coming down,it was the livestock sector that has given the country a hope for reversing the trend. “Therefore,at this juncture,it is institutions like GADVASU that can play a pivotal role in sustaining this kind of growth,” he added.

Doctors demand implementation of ACP scheme
The Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association has expressed resentment over harassment in getting Assured Career Progression (ACP) in the revised pay scales. The association has demanded that ACPs be implemented in the new payscales for doctors and also demanded a ‘Dynamic ACP’ for PCMS doctors having 20 years of regular service. Dr Balwinder Kumar,PCMSA general secretary,said that the doctors’ cadre is weighed down with stagnation in promotion.

Workshop on calligraphy organised
A workshop on calligraphy was organised by the Department of English,Government College for Women,in Ludhiana on Thursday. Around 250 students participated in the event Sunanda Joshi,Head of Department of English,said that handwriting is the mirror of one’s personality. Winners of various activities like the creative writing competition,the best group project,best sales presentation and best budding writer were also honoured.