By Admin 
On International Women’s Day, the Punjab government presented a budget of Rs 2,36,080 crore for the financial year 2025-26 in the Assembly. While presenting the budget in the Assembly, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that today’s budget is historic in many ways. It is being presented on the auspicious occasion of International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the strength, achievements and aspirations of women. He said, the government aims to take forward the vision of “Changing Punjab”. Special attention has been given in the budget to key areas like health, education, rural development, industry, agriculture, sports and social welfare.
The Finance Minister of Punjab said that the economy of Punjab has demonstrated continued resilience and structural stability in the last one year. The gross state domestic product of the state for the financial year 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 28,91,487 crore. For the financial year 2026-27, the Gross State Domestic Product is estimated to reach Rs 9,80,635 crore, with an expected growth rate of 10 percent. This is supported by improved agricultural productivity, expanding service activities and strong industrial momentum.
Budget expenditure proposal of Rs 12,60,437 crore
The Finance Minister proposed a total budget expenditure of Rs 12,60,437 crore for the financial year 2026-27 in the Assembly. Effective revenue deficit is estimated at 2.06 percent of GSDP and fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.08 percent of GSDP. These projections reaffirm our commitment to responsible financial management as well as sustained economic growth and public welfare.
Cheema said in the budget speech, “The promised education reforms in Punjab have now shifted towards structural transformation. Over the last four years, we have focused on upgrading infrastructure, strengthening basic education and creating centers of excellence within the government school system. This reform journey is entering its next phase in the financial year 2026-27, i.e. strengthened with an expansion of ₹19,279 crore in the education sector for the financial year 2026-27. I propose a budgetary outlay of Rs., which is an increase of 7% over FY 2025-26.
Women of Punjab will get Rs 1000 every month
While announcing in the Assembly, it was said that the women of Punjab will be given Rs 1000 every month, while the women of Scheduled Caste category will get Rs 1500 per month. This amount will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries under ‘Mukhyamantri Matain-Betiyan Satkar Yojana’.
The Finance Minister said that we have ensured both basic and advanced standards in about 20,000 government schools. Today, 99 percent of schools have boundary walls. 10,095 toilets have been constructed. The purchase of over one lakh new desks has ensured that no child sits on the floor. 8.286 sanitation workers are ensuring daily cleanliness in schools. More than 3,000 security personnel are ensuring the security of school premises. 1,798 campus managers assist in school administration.
To meet the needs, approximately 6,200 classrooms have been renovated and 4,700 have been renovated. This year, Rs 690 crore has been allocated to further strengthen the school infrastructure. The focus this year will be a massive whitewashing and beautification campaign, so that every government school reflects pride, cleanliness and aspiration.
Announcement of conducting drug census also
To further intensify the campaign against drugs, the government will deploy 5,000 Home Guard soldiers in the border areas. State-of-the-art anti-drone systems will be installed to prevent smuggling through drones from across the border. For this, a provision of Rs 110 crore has been made in the budget. Apart from this, it has also been announced to conduct “Drug Census”. Through this survey, the spread of drug addiction and the socio-economic aspects related to it will be studied. A budget of Rs 150 crore is proposed for this.
Proposal to build modern Dial-112 headquarters in Mohali
Finance Minister Cheema said that to make the emergency service ‘112’ more effective, 758 four-wheeler and 916 two-wheeler emergency response vehicles will be purchased. The goal is to reduce response time to emergency calls from 30 minutes to about 8 minutes. A provision of Rs 125 crore has been made for this. There is a proposal to spend Rs 53 crore to build a modern Dial-112 headquarters in Mohali.
Khedda Punjab, Badalda Punjab initiative will start
“Khedda Punjab, Badalda Punjab” initiative will be started to connect the youth with sports. Under this, sports grounds will be built in villages and about 3,000 indoor gyms will be established. A budget of ₹979 crore has been kept for the sports department.
Every family will get annual cashless treatment up to Rs 10 lakh
Apart from this, each family will get cashless treatment up to Rs 10 lakh annually. A provision of Rs 778 crore has been made for this scheme. A total budget of Rs 5,598 crore has been kept for the health department. Rs 2,873 crore will be spent for the development of rural areas. A provision of Rs 225 crore has been made to improve urban basic services and 347 e-buses will be purchased.
The scheme of providing 300 units of free electricity every month will continue
The government will continue the scheme of providing 300 units of free electricity every month to domestic consumers. A budget of Rs 7,614 crore has been kept for this. A new industrial policy will be brought to promote industries and a provision of Rs 250 crore has been made.
A budget of Rs 14,524 crore has been kept for agriculture and allied sectors. A budget of Rs 9,340 crore has been kept for social justice and welfare schemes.