New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government on Sunday presented final budget of its current term — the state will go to poll in early 2027 — and announced a series of welfare measures, including a cash assistance scheme for women, universal health insurance and power subsidy for agriculture.
Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the state budget for 2026–27 with a total outlay of Rs 2,60,437 crore.
Cash aid scheme for women
The highlight of FM Cheema’s speech was the launch of “Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojna”, under which women in Punjab will receive monthly financial assistance. Through this scheme the Bhagwant Mann govt fulfilled a major poll promise made by AAP before the 2022 Punjab assembly elections.
Under the scheme, Rs 1,000 per month will be transferred to the bank accounts of women, while women belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community will receive Rs 1,500 per month, Cheema said while presenting the budget in the assembly.
According to the government, around 97 per cent of adult women in Punjab will be eligible for the scheme. Only a few categories — including current or former government employees, MPs, MLAs and income tax payers — will be excluded.
Women already receiving pensions under existing social security schemes, such as old-age, widow or disability pensions, will also remain eligible.
Cheema said the scheme aims to promote economic independence among women and strengthen their role in household decision-making. The government has earmarked Rs 9,300 crore for the scheme in the budget.
Universal health insurance
Cheema also announced the launch of “Mukhyamantri Sehat Yojana”, under which, every family in Punjab will receive cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh per year at more than 900 government and empanelled private hospitals.
The government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the scheme, and it is expected to benefit about 65 lakh families.
Expansion of healthcare infrastructure
To strengthen primary healthcare services, the government also announced plans to expand the network of Aam Aadmi Clinics.
The government also plans to establish 143 new clinics during the 2026–27 financial year and upgrade 308 sub-health centres into Aam Aadmi Clinics. The finance minister proposed an allocation of Rs 6,879 crore for the health sector in the upcoming financial year.
Farm power subsidy, stubble management support
The budget also includes Rs 7,715 crore for power subsidy to the agriculture sector. Moreover, Rs 600 crore has been allocated to subsidise stubble management machinery, aimed at tackling the problem of crop residue burning.
Cheema said Punjab’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is projected to reach Rs 9,80,635 crore in 2026–27, with an estimated growth rate of 10 per cent.
The revenue deficit is pegged at 2.06 per cent of GSDP, while the fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.08 per cent.