| In addition, the Centre has also agreed to upgrade the medical institute at Jalandhar to a National Institute for Research in Health Sciences with an annual funding of Rs 100 crore on the pattern of the country's only such centre at Chitra Trinamool. |
| The centre has also approved the proposal for setting up of a centre of excellence of key seed technologies through genetic engineering in the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. |
| In another major decision, the centre asked the Punjab government to identify at least one college in every city to be given the prestigious status of a "Star Life Sciences College". |
| These colleges would be treated as role models in excellence in learning for which the centre would provide technical backup. |
| The centre also gave a green signal for a research and marketing centre for medicinal and aromatic plants which dominate the foothills of Punjab along the Himachal border. |
| The proposal for an institute for bio-technology-based programmes for women and rural development has also been reserved for "positive response after appropriate clearance." |
| The Centre's nod for the clearance of these projects came at the end of a meeting between the Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal and the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Vigyan Kendra at New Delhi here this afternoon. |
| The Centre has also agreed to extend the 3-D mapping technology to Punjab. This will dramatically improve the geo-climatic evaluation of every nook and corner of the state and will have a major impact on its agricultural economy. |
| The same technology would also be extended to urban areas to ensure planned and regulated development of cities. |
| Among the other proposals which received the Centre's nod were the establishment of an Institute of Innovative and Emerging Technologies at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and a centre of excellence for technology assessment and transfer. |
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