One of the most significant announcements in the budget was the launch of a direct cash transfer scheme for women under the “Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satikar Yojana.” Under this initiative, the government will provide financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month to adult women in Punjab.
Women belonging to Scheduled Caste communities will receive ₹1,500 per month under the scheme. The government has earmarked about ₹9,300 crore for this initiative in the 2026–27 budget.
The scheme is expected to benefit nearly 97 percent of adult women in the state, excluding certain categories such as government employees, pensioners, and income tax payers. The financial assistance will be transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
The announcement is significant because providing monthly financial assistance to women was a key election promise made by the Aam Aadmi Party during the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. With the next state elections approaching, the implementation of this scheme is being viewed as a major political move aimed at strengthening the party’s support among women voters.
