Punjab was at the forefront of the Green Revolution in the 1960s. The state has played a critical role in making India self sufficient in food production. The per-capita income of the state is among the highest in the country.

The state has taken several impressive steps to make the system efficient and transparent. Punjab has made a huge jump in the SKOCH State of Governance ranking. With 22 SKOCH Ordersof- Merit and four awards, Punjab has catapulted into STAR category. In SKOCH State of Governance 2016 ranking, Punjab was in PERFORMERS category. There have been impressive initiatives at district administration level.

Economy

Punjab’s economy is passing through a difficult phase. The state’s economic expansion has been far below the national average in the past two decades. In 2016-17 also, the GSDP growth of Punjab is estimated to be lower than the national GDP growth.

Per capita income rose from Rs 95,546 in 2014-15 to Rs 99,372 during 2015-16, registering a growth rate of 4 per cent. At current prices, the per capita income increased by 9.52 per cent from Rs 108,897 in 2014-15 to Rs 119,261 in 2015-16. Agriculture continues to dominate the state economy. However, the share of the tertiary sector in Punjab’s economy has been increasing steadily in the recent years.

Key Achievements

A number of innovative initiatives have been taken by district administration across the state. Transformation of a small dusty village Sakkanwali into a clean beautiful tourist destination is an excellent example of the innovative steps taken at the grassroots level. Until a few years back, Sakkanwali was a typical dusty village located in Sri Muktsar Sahib district. Innovative steps taken by the district administration and proactive support from the local people have helped made Sakkanwali an ideal village. It is today a clean, spotless and beautiful tourist destination. The main attraction of the village is the lake converted from a pond. A drainage system ensures the circulation of fresh water. Boating facility has also been introduced in the lake. With widening of streets, interlocking tiles, underground sewage system and solar panel lights, the village has today become a major attraction for people to live, work and play.

District Administration Bathinda has introduced project Navjeevan, a common platform for providing rehabilitation and treatment facilities for the disabled, ensuring their integration as contributing and productive members of the society. The Government of Punjab has also set up a Vocational Rehabilitation Centre to provide vocational and skill training the specially abled people.

Barnala District Administration is at the forefront in the implementation of e-Office project. Barnala has become the first district to extend e-Office implementation to SDM office. e-Office project seeks to replace the traditional manual Dak movement with online paperless movement of Dak and Files from one office to another bringing transparency and efficiency to the office work.

Municipal Corporation SAS Nagar (Mohali) has implemented very innovative replacement of existing streetlights with energy efficient LED streetlights controlled by centralised control monitoring system. This includes an online 24-hour tracking of streetlights operations in entire city through GPS from the control room.

The Municipal Corporation has replaced 21,800 streetlights with energy efficient LED streetlights, including 350 switching points/feeder panels replaced with centralised control and monitoring system with smart controls for remote system operation for switch-point wise control.

District Administration Fazilka has taken initiatives for clean and sustainable environment through Public Private Partnership and behavioral change through public awareness programmes.

Department of Rural Development and Panchayats has pushed forward for extensive use of technology at the Panchayat level to bring more transparency and efficiency in their functioning. With an objective of monitoring the use of Financial Resources available with Panchayats, technology has been used to deal with the scarcity of human resources at the village level. Bank accounts of all Panchayats have been put on the official website with all the financial transactions. This ensures transparency.

With an objective to strengthen the primary healthcare system, National Health Mission, Punjab has set up Kiosk – an equivalent to sub-centres. Promotive, preventive and few curative primary healthcare services are provided through the Kiosks. It also provides a system of inter/ intra sectoral convergence and a platform to address the peculiarities of urban healthcare needs. Vulnerable sections of the society, especially labourers engaged in the unorganised sector get basic healthcare services through these Kiosks.