Punjab Governor honours UPSC achievers, lays stone for dialysis centre

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Sunday felicitated 18 young achievers from Punjab who successfully cleared the UPSC examination (2024–25) through the ‘Sankalp’ initiative, describing them as “the pride of Punjab.”

The event, held at the Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Trust Hall here, marked the Governor’s strong support for youth pursuing civil services and emphasised the state’s rich legacy of service and sacrifice.

Addressing the gathering, Kataria lauded the Sankalp coaching team and noted that of the 1,009 UPSC qualifiers this year, a remarkable 721 had trained under Sankalp — including 18 from Punjab. He congratulated them and urged all successful candidates to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to public service, calling them key agents in implementing government policies and welfare programmes.

Earlier in the day, the Governor laid the foundation stone of a free dialysis centre and inaugurated a rejuvenation therapy facility at the Bharat Vikas Charitable Trust.

He praised the Trust’s initiative to offer cost-free dialysis, a treatment he described as vital yet unaffordable for many, and commended the use of Ayurveda’s panchakarma therapy as an effective system for holistic healing.

While speaking about India’s noble history, the Governor highlighted the unmatched sacrifices of Guru Teg Bahadur and the family of Guru Gobind Singh. He stressed the importance of state youth connecting with their cultural heritage and learning from its glorious past.

Notable UPSC achievers from Punjab included Mudila Bansal (Rank 44, Ludhiana), Astha Singh (Rank 61, Zirakpur), Riya Kumar Sethi (Rank 89, Mohali), Damanpreet Arora (Rank 103, Mohali), Ramanpreet Singh (Rank 152, Patiala) and others from Patiala, Jalandhar, Khanna, Pathankot, Mansa, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar.