Gurpreet Singh Nibber is an Assistant Editor with the Punjab bureau. He covers politics, agriculture, power sector, environment, Sikh religious affairs and the Punjabi diaspora.
Articles by Gurpreet Singh Nibber
Akalis may go it alone, plan to contest 12 assembly seats
Following continued deadlock with alliance partner BJP over sharing of seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday decided to contest independently on 12 seats in the Delhi assembly elections. Gurpreet Singh Nibber reports.
Updated on Oct 21, 2013 11:05 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
SAD scales up electoral ambitions in Delhi
Following a deadlock with alliance partner BJP over sharing of seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday decided to contest independently on 12 seats in the forthcoming assembly elections in Delhi scheduled for December 4.
Updated on Oct 21, 2013 12:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Punjab procurement agencies in fix
For the past 11 crops since the kharif season of 2008, five agencies pay 3% infrastructure development (ID) cess to the state government on total procurement, while the union ministry of food and public distribution reimburses them only 2%. State procurement agencies Punsup, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, Pungrain, Markfed, and Punjab Warehousing Corporation, thus, have accumulated a loss of more than Rs 800 crore, so far.
Updated on Oct 12, 2013 09:27 AM IST
None | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Bhuj farmers see BJP MLA behind attack
Four Sikh farmers injured by 30 armed men on Tuesday at Loria village near Bhuj city in Gujarat's Kutch district have named Anjar's BJP legislator Vasanbhai Ahir as perpetrator.
Updated on Oct 09, 2013 11:22 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Deadlock between SAD, BJP over seat sharing
There is a deadlock between coalition partners Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) over seat sharing in the forthcoming assembly elections in Delhi on December 4.Under the coalition arrangement, out of 70 seats in Delhi, the SAD will contest four.
Updated on Oct 09, 2013 12:01 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
'Temporary relief' for fatigued state economy
The drained coffers of the Punjab government will get some relief in the form of taxes levied on the union government that has started procuring paddy from the state from October 1.
Updated on Oct 04, 2013 11:44 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Mandi board's top brass not in unison
There are few takers for the Punjab government's policy of paying the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and paddy directly to farmers, bypassing arhtiyas (commission agents).
Updated on Oct 04, 2013 01:23 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Punjab smells profit in basmati
Punjab expects profitable basmati crop this kharif season. The price of Indian basmati already has touched $136 (`8,500) a quintal in the international market, lifting the rate in the state as well.
Updated on Oct 01, 2013 10:20 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Punjab to ease agricultural land mortgage law
In an effort to help farmers procure loans from banks in a hassle-free manner, the Punjab government has decided to amend the law dealing with the mortgage of agriculture land. Gurpreet Singh Nibber reports.
Updated on Sep 30, 2013 01:02 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
PSPCL directed to install meters on 11.5 lakh tubewells
After catching the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on the wrong foot over claims of 'lowest' transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has taken a tough stand to determine agricultural power supplied and actual losses incurred on agricultural feeders.
Updated on Sep 25, 2013 10:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Rajnath Singh keeps sulking Sidhu away from Badal
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh and other senior party leaders paid a courtesy call on Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal here on Monday evening, but the party's disgruntled MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu was told to stay away.
Updated on Sep 24, 2013 01:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Rajnath to prepare ground for parliamentary polls
In the run-up to the forthcoming parliamentary elections, BJP national president Rajnath Singh, who arrived here on Sunday on a two-day visit, will interact with the core group leaders of four states - Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh -- and union territory of Chandigarh on Monday.
Updated on Sep 23, 2013 01:12 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
SAD (Badal) wants two seats in West Delhi
The BJP has asked its coalition partner Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to announce its candidates on two seats before September 19, before the Shradh period begins.
Updated on Sep 17, 2013 02:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, New Delhi
Regulatory panel questions power body functioning
Casting aspersions on the functioning of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has pointed out that the former has claimed 2,157 million units excess power in agriculture pump set (AP) category in the past three years which actually was lost in transmission and distribution.
Updated on Sep 09, 2013 10:08 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Farmer suicides;State govt fails to compensate all affected families
As the state government has ordered a fresh survey to identify the number of farmers in the state who had committed suicide owing to debt from 2010 till now, the government is yet to compensate the families identified in the earlier survey.
Updated on Sep 05, 2013 11:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Almost back in SADdle, Sukhbir to step on development pedal
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, who is set to be re-elected as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president, on Monday said that in five years at the helm, he had changed the "attitude, configuration and agenda" of the party.
Updated on Sep 03, 2013 02:28 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber & Harkirat Singh, Chandigarh/amritsar
PSPCL's worry: imported coal to lead to tariff hike
A decision by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), which allowed private sector thermal plants coming up in Punjab to import coal directly, has added to the worries of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
Updated on Aug 30, 2013 12:38 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Eviction of Sikh farmers from Kutch
The Punjab government on Wednesday pressed into service its advocate general to provide legal support to Sikh farmers of the Kutch area who are fighting against the Gujarat government's eviction orders.
Updated on Aug 21, 2013 08:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Murders in Manila: Veteran financiers blame new entrants for mess
The new generation of Punjabi money-lenders in the Philippines is "spoiling the entire show", as per the old-timers in the business.
Updated on Aug 13, 2013 11:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Punjabi financiers at receiving end
The cost of a life in the Philippines is just 10,000 pesos (around Rs 14,000), or even less. As per an estimate, nearly 500 Punjabis were murdered in 2012, while about 50 have been killed this year so far. Most of these cases involved contract killings in which the victims were financiers.
Updated on Aug 12, 2013 11:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Money-lending business fraught with danger
Lives of a large number of Indians, most of them Punjabis, engaged in un-institutional finance business in the Philippines are fraught with danger. The business, according to those settled in the Philippines, has a huge profit margin but that comes at a price.
Updated on Aug 12, 2013 12:49 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
DSGMC delegation reaches Dubai from Rome
A DSGMC delegation, including its president Manjit Singh GK, has reached Dubai for a religious function. The members left from Rome airport on Thursday morning after protocol officer from India's high commission arranged their departure without removing turbans for security check. Gurpreet Singh Nibber reports
Updated on Aug 08, 2013 10:34 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
DSGMC members told to remove turbans at Rome airport
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK was told to remove his turban during a security check at the Rome airport on Tuesday night. However, he, along with other members of the DSGMC delegation, refused to do so and decided not to board their Dubai-bound Emirates flight.
Updated on Aug 07, 2013 10:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Sikh farmers 'evicted', Modi govt gets trouble
Punjab's Shiromani Akali Dal, which runs the state government in coalition with the BJP, is in a dilemma whether to support the farmers or not after the Narendra Modi government in 2010 said that they had no rights on their land. Gurpreet Singh Nibber reports.
Updated on Aug 07, 2013 11:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
SAD slams Modi for plight of Sikh farmers
After the Punjab unit of the Congress, in separate letters, urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to intervene and prevent the "forcible eviction" of Sikh families by the Gujarat government, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday swung into action and slammed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the plight of Sikh farmers.
Updated on Aug 02, 2013 12:35 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Fund crunch hampers Shahpur Kandi project
The much-delayed 168-MW Shahpur Kandi project on the Ravi river in Pathankot district has hit another roadblock, with the Centre yet to release funds to the tune of Rs 190 crore to the Punjab irrigation department.
Updated on Jul 26, 2013 01:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
War heroes' kin PCS officers missing from seniority list
Eight Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officers, who have been working in various capacities in the state for the past seven to 14 years have been left reeling from the shock after their names were found missing from the recently updated seniority list.
Updated on Jul 14, 2013 10:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Punjab fails to make the most of NABARD funds
For the past two years, the Punjab finance department has been unable to make the most of sanctioned funds from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The lackadaisical approach of the state government has hampered the pace of development works, especially in the rural development and irrigation sectors.
Updated on Jul 06, 2013 12:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
BJP may have to open without Sidhu
It's likely to be a show without star host, as the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) team in Punjab assembles in Amritsar for the first innings. Many senior leaders, including party national president Rajnath Singh, will be attendance on July 7 and 8 at the opening meeting of the BJP's new state executive body but the constituency's MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu, may not be able to make it.
Updated on Jul 05, 2013 12:09 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh
Race for two key PSPCL posts hots up
The race for the posts of director, human resource development (HRD), and director, distribution, in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is hotting up. The selection committee, headed by the Punjab chief secretary and including the secretary (power) and the chairman, rural electrification corporation (REC), is likely to meet later this month for the final decision.
Updated on Jul 04, 2013 12:11 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Chandigarh