In a major outreach to attract global capital and boost industrial development as envisioned by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Industries and Commerce Minister Mr Aman Arora on Monday met H.E. Abdulla Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the UAE International Investment Council (UAEIIC), on the sidelines of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai to discuss expansive opportunities for mobilising investments into the state.

During the the meeting, the Industries Minister discussed with H.E. Abdulla Ahmed Al Suwaidi about Punjab’s vast economic potential and invited UAE investors to tap into high-growth sectors through government, semi-government and private sector partnerships.

Reiterating the state government’s resolve, Mr Aman Arora assured the UAEIIC of complete administrative support, handholding and logistical facilitation from the Punjab Government for global enterprises seeking to set up or expand operations in the state. He emphasised that under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab is keen to build long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with UAE-based investors and institutional funds.

Highlighting the state’s investor-centric reforms, the Minister underscored the ease of doing business facilitated through ‘Invest Punjab’—the state’s unified single-window platform that delivers prompt statutory approvals and clearances to ensure a smooth, hassle-free investment journey.

“Punjab offers a highly conducive entrepreneurial ecosystem, excellent multimodal connectivity, skilled technical manpower, and a transparent governance framework. We invite UAE business leaders to become active partners in Punjab’s transformative economic growth story,” Mr Aman Arora said.

The UAE International Investment Council (UAEIIC), which unites the UAE’s public and private entities to channel outward foreign direct investment (FDI), welcomed the state delegation’s proactive outreach. The engagement focused on establishing robust institutional linkages to enable direct capital inflows and joint ventures between the UAE and Punjab.

Expressing confidence in the discussions, Mr Aman Arora noted that this engagement marks a significant milestone that will pave the way for deeper bilateral economic cooperation, stronger business ties and substantial investment pipelines in Punjab.

Following a written assurance from the Bhagwant Mann Government accepting the core demands of the agitating farmer unions, farmers protesting at the Chandigarh-Mohali border called off their stir on Monday evening. The formal written assurance was handed over to the farmer representatives by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

As per the written agreement, the Punjab Punjab Government will convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha within a month to pass resolutions on key issues and forward them to the Centre. These include seeking reconsideration of decades-old unconstitutional water-sharing agreements, repeal of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act to restore the State’s riparian rights, annulment of the Dam Safety Act and withdrawal of the Seed Bill, 2025.

Reaffirming the Bhagwant Government’s firm commitment to the welfare of farmers, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that the Punjab Government believes in resolving issues through dialogue and mutual understanding. “The Bhagwant Mann Government is fully committed to the welfare of our annadatas. We believe in resolving issues through dialogue and have accepted their genuine demands with full transparency in writing,” he said.

To ease the financial burden on farmers, the Agriculture Minister also announced that an One-Time Settlement (OTS) policy will be formulated for outstanding loans, particularly those availed from cooperative banks, including the Punjab State Cooperative Bank and cooperative societies. “A committee will be constituted in consultation with all political parties to formulate the OTS policy, which will be instrumental in clearing the debt burden of farmers,” he said.

On the issue of sugarcane pricing, Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian asserted that Punjab will continue to provide the highest sugarcane price in the country. He said directions had been issued to put up the file for fixing the sugarcane price on Monday itself, ensuring that the process is initiated without delay.

The Agriculture Minister further said that the Government will ensure time-bound clearance of pending dues of farmers from private sugar mills. “The ‘One Window, One Payment’ system, presently applicable to cooperative mills, will be extended to private mills as well,” he said.

For the remaining demands of the farmer unions, Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian assured that a joint committee comprising senior officers of the Punjab Government and representatives nominated by the farmer unions will be constituted. The committee will examine the outstanding matters and work towards resolving them expeditiously.

The wound may have looked small.

The danger was anything but small.

For a person living with diabetes, a cut on the foot can slowly turn into a medical emergency. Nerve damage can dull pain, making injuries easy to miss. Poor circulation can slow healing, while infection can spread into deeper tissues and, in severe cases, threaten the limb itself. For hundreds of patients in Punjab, Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY) became the safety net when a diabetic foot problem escalated into a fight for recovery.

At 47, Harcharan Singh was battling advanced diabetic foot disease. Nerve damage had reduced his ability to detect injury, while infection had spread into deeper tissues. Doctors performed surgical debridement to remove infected and dead tissue and give the foot a chance to heal.

Raja, 38, faced a similar danger. A wound he could barely feel because of diabetic nerve damage developed into a serious infection, with the risk of it reaching the bone. Timely surgery became necessary.

For another beneficiary, Veena, 57, poor circulation made healing difficult. Her ulcer progressed to the point where the foot was at risk of amputation. Surgery was required to remove infected tissue.

Then there is Santokh Singh, 67, who developed a non-healing diabetic foot ulcer with pus formation. Surgical intervention was needed to drain the infection and remove the affected tissue.

Four patients. Four different journeys. One frightening possibility: losing a limb.

But timely treatment gave all four a crucial chance to fight the infection and protect their limbs.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “Behind every statistic under Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana is a human life—a father, a mother, a son or a daughter whose family is hoping for one more chance. Diabetic foot complications can progress silently and, if treatment is delayed, can threaten mobility and even the limb itself. Our priority is to ensure that no family in Punjab has to choose between seeking timely treatment and worrying about whether they can afford it.”

Dr Balbir Singh added that Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana is designed to ensure that when a patient reaches the hospital, the focus remains on saving the patient, not on the family’s ability to pay.

“The success of Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana should not be measured only in the number of treatments or the amount spent, but in what those treatments make possible—a patient returning home, a family spared financial distress and, in cases such as diabetic foot disease, a limb that can still be saved. That is the purpose of a people-centred healthcare system: to stand with families when they need it most,” said Dr Balbir Singh.

The latest State Health Agency data shows that 560 patients received treatment for diabetic foot and associated complications, with a total expenditure of ₹1.32 crore in the last nearly eight months under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana. Surgical management accounted for the largest share, covering 126 patients and ₹44.55 lakh in expenditure. Another 123 patients received medical management.

The remaining cases involved prolonged dressing and antibiotic care, toe and foot surgeries, below-knee procedures, skin grafts, imaging such as CT and MRI, blood and platelet transfusions, and treatment of serious associated conditions, including diabetic ketoacidosis, severe sepsis and anaemia.

That is where Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana becomes more than a policy on paper. For these patients, it meant treatment could begin without the immediate burden of an unaffordable hospital bill becoming another emergency.