The AAP government in Punjab on Sunday announced a new scheme, under which Scheduled Caste women will be given Rs 1,500 every month and all other women will be given Rs 1,000 every month. Providing assistance of Rs 1,000 every month to every woman was an important election promise of the ruling party ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. Presenting the state budget for 2026-27 in the Assembly here, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced the implementation of ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana’, under which the government will transfer money directly into the accounts of women.
The Bhagwant Mann government started this new scheme almost four years after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab. Cheema said that for women of SC community, the government will transfer Rs 1,500 directly into their accounts every month. This announcement came on the occasion of International Women’s Day. This is the first time that the state budget was presented on Sunday. Cheema said that this new scheme for women will be the first universal cash transfer scheme for women not only in India but also in the world.
Which women will get it and who won’t?
He said that every woman above 18 years of age in Punjab will be eligible to enroll under this scheme, except a few, which include current or former permanent government employees, current and former MP/MLAs and income tax payers. He further said that women enrolled under existing social security pension schemes like old age pension or widow/destitute women pension or disability pension scheme will also be eligible under this scheme. Cheema said that overall, about 97 percent of adult women from Punjab will be eligible under the scheme, which is the highest for any state in India. The initiative aims to promote economic independence, strengthen women’s role in household decision-making, improve health and nutrition outcomes, and encourage girls’ continued education and higher dreams.
Women will not depend on men
The Punjab Finance Minister said this reaffirms the government’s belief that empowerment should translate into stronger financial security and greater respect for women across Punjab. Taking a dig at the opposition parties, Cheema said that many states have started the ‘jumla’ of announcing similar schemes, but they limit it to only a small section of women, and mostly ignore the women who are dependent on men for money for their most basic needs. For example, one of our neighboring states announced a similar scheme, but limited it only to families with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh, covering only 20 per cent of all adult women, he said without naming the state. Cheema said that but Punjab will not make such ‘jumlas’.
Money will come directly to banks
Cheema said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ji is not the Chief Minister of 20 percent of the women of Punjab, but the Chief Minister of all the women of Punjab… That is why we have decided to become the first state to ensure that all adult women are covered under this scheme. Cheema said that so, whether it is a daughter studying in college who needs extra books, a daughter preparing for a government job who needs coaching, or a woman watching a movie in a cinema hall; Or a grandmother buying a new toy for her granddaughter, now she will not have to ask anyone for money for her expenses because her elder brother, his son Bhagwant Singh Mann, will deposit Rs 1,000 to 1,500 in her bank account every month. The Finance Minister kept a budget of Rs 9,300 crore for 2026-27 to implement the scheme transparently and on time.
allegations were leveled against the government
Before AAP came to power in Punjab, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal had promised to give Rs 1,000 to every woman. The Mann government’s announcement of launching the scheme for women comes amid mounting pressure from opposition parties – Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP – who are accusing the AAP government of not fulfilling its election promises. Opposition parties are also demanding that the Mann government should give Rs 1,000 every month to every woman along with the Rs 48,000 accumulated in the last four years, as AAP had promised to provide this financial assistance after coming to power in 2022.