To facilitate more youth from Punjab to take up defence services as a career, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday virtually laid the foundation stone of Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Armed Forces Preparatory Institute at Bajwara village in Hoshiarpur — third such incident in the state.

The ambitious project will be executed at a cost of Rs 27 crore over an area of 12.75 acres by the PWD (B&R) Department and would be completed by the end of 2021. The upcoming Institute would impart training to 270 candidates per year.

“This new Armed Forces Preparatory Institute would be instrumental in realizing the dreams of Punjab’s young sons and daughters to join the armed forces.

At a time when women pilot officers are flying the Rafale and helicopters, and are actively involved in every field of the armed forces, the day will soon come when girls in India will be part of the fighting force like their counterparts in other countries,” said the Chief Minister. Capt Amarinder thanked Congress MP Ambika Soni, also the president of Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Education Trust and Society, for providing land free of cost as a gift to the Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Department to establish the Institute.

Soni, on her part, thanked the State Government for its help in setting up the institution that could become a modern training ground for youth from Punjab to join the armed forces.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister lauded the role played by Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, in providing defence training to youth, enabling them to secure permanent commission in the Armed Forces through the National Defence Academy or equivalent service academy.