Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the fifth Budget of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for 2026-27, with a total outlay of Rs 260,437 crore. The Budget projects the state’s GSDP at Rs 980,635 crore, anticipating a growth rate of 10 percent. Titled ‘Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojna’, the Budget introduced a universal cash transfer scheme benefitting women, including Rs 1,000 per month for women and Rs 1,500 for Dalit women.
The Budget, unveiled on International Women’s Day, emphasized key allocations in education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and social welfare. Punjab’s Finance Minister highlighted the effective revenue deficit at 2.06 percent of GSDP and the fiscal deficit at 4.08 percent. Referring to it as the ‘Saari Guarantiyan Puri Karan Wala Budget’, the Minister stated that all electoral promises of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann have been met.
Under the ‘Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojna’, adult women will receive direct cash transfers, with Rs 1,000 per month for eligible women and Rs 1,500 for those from the Scheduled Caste community. A budgetary outlay of Rs 9,300 crore aims to cover nearly 97 percent of adult women in Punjab, including existing social security pension beneficiaries.
The Budget also allocates funds for various initiatives, such as free bus travel for women, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and the Navi Disha Scheme providing free sanitary pads. In the education sector, an outlay of Rs 19,279 crore has been proposed, with additional allocations for higher education and technical training. The government has also planned the establishment of a world-class university in Anandpur Sahib named after Guru Tegh Bahadur.
