The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) merit list released 30 Apr featured four achievers from Panjab. Phagwara’s Sidaq Singh ranked 157 on his sixth attempt after home study during the pandemic, Jalandhar’s Arushi ranked 184 using district coaching, Ludhiana’s Jaskaran Singh ranked 240 after leaving Indian Revenue Service probation to improve his rank, and Hoshiarpur tehsildar (revenue officer) Larson Singla ranked 936. The exam drew 992K applicants, 583K took preliminary tests, 14K cleared the mains, 2.8K faced interviews, and 1K were recommended for service. In Sikh education, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee released November 2024 Class I and Class II Dharam Prachar (Religious preaching) examination results, awarding scholarships worth about USD 55.4K to 2,928 students and issuing certificates to promote knowledge of Sikh history and Rehat Maryada (code of conduct). Concurrently, the Panjab government notified revised pension benefits for around 400 retired teachers and 100 family pensioners from govt. colleges and universities who left service before 1 Jan 2016 under the Seventh University Grants Commission Pay Scales. Pension is fixed at 50% of notional pay as of 1 Jan 2016 and family pension at 30%, with arrears from 1 Oct 2022 to be paid in four quarterly instalments, costing roughly USD 4.6 M. Meanwhile, mid‑day meal data for academic year 2024‑25 show 1.5M of 1.9M enrolled govt. schoolchildren received meals, leaving about 385K without coverage, most notably in Bal Vatikas (kindergarten) and upper primary classes. The Union Ministry of Education approved a USD 43.9M budget for 2025‑26 under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (Prime Minister’s Mid Day Meal) scheme, including USD 27.5M share by union govt. and USD 16.4M state share, and directed Panjab to address enrolment decline of nearly 60K, low meal uptake in several districts, lack of laboratory testing in seven districts, and limited health screenings that reached 68% of students (earlier coverage).
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