Punjab FM urges industry to spend CSR on health, education

Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals & Fertiliser | Promoter entities Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation, Twinshield Consultants and South India Travels to sell 1,05,72,513 equity shares of the company via offer for sale on November 3-4. (Image: Reuters)

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Monday called upon industrial houses to spend on education, health and other sectors under their corporate social responsibility programmes for uplifting the social and economic conditions of the people in the state.

Badal made the appeal after inaugurating a new building at a government primary school here. The building has been constructed by Vardhman Textiles Limited under the CSR initiative, an official release said.

The finance minister accused the previous dispensation of taking no step to uplift the education standards in the state during the last decade.

The minister also ruled out installing metres on agricultural tube wells and exhorted the rich farmers to voluntarily give up the power subsidy.

He added that the government would launch a pilot project to directly transfer the cash subsidy into the farmers' accounts.