Chandigarh : In a high-stakes fiscal gamble ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Sunday unveiled a record-breaking ₹2,60,437 crore budget for the 2026-27 financial year, centering its strategy on a massive universal cash transfer for women while the state’s debt continues to spiral toward the ₹4.47 lakh crore mark. Presenting the budget on International Women’s Day—marking the first time in Punjab’s history a budget was tabled on a holiday—Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema termed it the “Saari Guarantiyan Puri Karan Wala Budget” (Budget that fulfills all guarantees). The centerpiece is the “Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojna,” a landmark initiative with a ₹9,300 crore outlay under which the government will transfer ₹1,000 per month to all adult women in the state, with an enhanced benefit of ₹1,500 per month for those from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. The scheme is designed to cover approximately 97% of Punjab’s adult female population—excluding only government employees, income tax payers, and legislators—while notably allowing current social security pensioners to collect this as an additional benefit.
Beyond the cash doles, the budget significantly ramped up social sector spending, allocating a historic ₹19,279 crore to education—a 7% increase—and introducing “Sikhiya Kranti 2.0” to modernize school infrastructure. In healthcare, the government earmarked ₹2,000 crore for the “Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna,” providing universal health insurance of up to ₹10 lakh per family for over 65 lakh households. To tackle youth unemployment, Cheema announced the creation of 22,000 new government jobs, alongside a ₹15,377 crore package for agriculture that maintains power subsidies while carving out ₹600 crore for stubble management machinery. However, this populist surge comes as Punjab’s outstanding debt is projected to hit ₹4,47,754 crore by March 2027, with the fiscal deficit pegged at 4.08% of the GSDP and interest payments alone expected to consume a massive chunk of the state’s revenue.
The opposition was swift and scathing in its response, dismissing the document as a “directionless exercise” funded by unsustainable borrowing. Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar launched a frontal attack, asking “Where is the money?” and claiming the roadmap would “uproot the very foundations of Punjab.” Jakhar accused the AAP of using borrowed money to “buy votes” while ignoring the long-term economic destruction caused by a lack of industrial growth. Similarly, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal labeled the budget a “bundle of lies” and a “play of numbers,” arguing that after four years of “betrayal,” the AAP was attempting to “fool Punjabis” with last-minute stunts while the state’s debt-to-GSDP ratio remains the worst in the country. Despite the criticism, the AAP government maintained that the budget balances aggressive welfare with a projected 10% GSDP growth, setting the stage for a fierce political battle as the state moves toward the next polls.
