CHANDIGARH 9 March 2026
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Sunday presented the fifth Budget of the Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) government in Punjab for 2026–27, proposing a total outlay of ₹2,60,437 crore and projecting the state’s GSDP at ₹9,80,635 crore with an estimated growth rate of 10 per cent. Tabled on International Women’s Day, the Budget unveiled the ‘Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojna’—a universal cash transfer scheme under which women will receive ₹1,000 per month and Dalit women ₹1,500—while outlining major allocations across education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure and social welfare, which the government described as fulfilling the all key electoral guarantees of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann.