Ahead of Assembly polls, Punjab rolls out pilot of women cash support scheme in select constituencies; eligible women to receive Rs 1,000 monthly under AAP promise

With less than a year to the Assembly elections, the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab has rolled out a pilot of one of AAP's 2022 poll promises. Registration began on April 15 for the Mukhymantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, which offers monthly cash support to women.

The pilot covers nine Assembly constituencies-Adampur, Malout, Batala, Anandpur Sahib, Dirba, Patiala Rural, Moga, Sunam and Kotkapura. Registration for the remaining constituencies will begin on May 15. Eligible women will receive ₹1,000 per month, while SC women will get ₹1,500. Transfers are set to begin in July.

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In the initial phase, the government aims to register 90 lakh women. Launching the scheme, Mann said it would cover about 97% of the state's women. The budget has allocated ₹9,300 crore for the scheme this year.

The rollout comes amid Punjab's strained finances. By end-March, the state's debt stood at ₹4.47 lakh crore, among the highest in the country. In the current fiscal, Punjab is set to spend ₹42,000 crore on debt servicing, including ₹28,700 crore in interest payments.

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Cash transfer schemes for women are increasingly seen as key electoral measures ahead of polls. With this, Punjab joins other states offering direct income support to women.