Punjab govt to present budget on International Women’s Day

Chandigarh: Punjab govt will present budget estimates for the 2026-27 fiscal year on March 8, coinciding with the International Women's Day. The govt is likely to roll out its much-hyped pre-poll promise of Rs 1,100 monthly allowance for every woman in the state. The cabinet on Monday formally approved the schedule for the Vidhan Sabha's budget session from March 6 to 16.Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said the budget will be presented on Sunday, which is also International Women's Day. "If Prime Minister Narendra Modi can get a Parliament session convened on a Sunday, why can't we? We can also table our budget on Sunday," Mann said. It is being speculated that International Women's Day has been chosen for the formal budgetary allocation for the scheme, making it a ‘Women's Day gift' to the state before the 2027 elections. It, however, remains to be seen if all women in the state would be included as beneficiaries under the scheme. Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the budget session will begin with the governor's address on March 6 at 11 am, which will be followed by obituary references that day. March 7 will be an off day, and the budget 2027-28 will be presented on March 8. Discussion on the governor's address will take place on March 9, while the budget will be discussed on March 10 and 11. Non-legislative business has been scheduled for March 12. March 13, 14, and 15 will be off days, and March 16 has been reserved for legislative business. "It will be a historic budget. You all know that it is also International Women's Day," said Cheema, adding that, if need be, the session could be extended by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), depending on the amount of legislative business lined up for the session. In March 2025, the AAP govt's fourth budget came with a projected debt of Rs 4.17 lakh crore and a revenue deficit of Rs 23,957 crore. The stipend for women was held back as the cash-strapped govt needed an additional hefty sum of around Rs 1,000 crore per month to cover all women above 18 years of age. Originally, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal pledged Rs 1,000 per month to every woman over 18 during the 2022 assembly elections. However, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and subsequent rallies, CM Mann "upped the ante", announcing that the govt would now provide Rs 1,100 per month instead.MSID:: 128715957 413 |