On 26 March 2025, Harpal Singh Cheema, Finance Minister (FM) of Punjab, presented a Rs 2,36,080 crore Budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 (FY26) with a special focus on the “Yudh Nashe De Virudh” (War Against Drugs) anti-drug campaign and Healthcare sector improvements. A unique initiative in the budget is to carry out the first-ever “Drug Census” in Punjab next year.
- The Drug Census will cover every household in Punjab and assess drug prevalence, de-addiction center usage, etc, with an allocation of Rs 150 crore. It aims to develop a scientific strategy to eradicate drug problems within 1-2 years.
Fiscal Indicators:
i.Punjab’s economy is showing strong growth, with a 9% increase, and the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Punjab at current prices has reached Rs 8,09,538 crore in the Revised Estimates (RE) of 2024-2025.
- The projected GSDP growth of 10% for FY 2025-26 is expected to reach Rs 8,91,301 crore.
ii.The total Revenue Receipts have been projected to be Rs 111740.32 crore in FY 2025-26, of which the State’s Own Tax Revenue accounts for Rs 63,250 crore.
- The Own Tax Revenue of Punjab has grown by 14% as of February 2025.
iii.The Effective Revenue Deficit (ERD) and Fiscal Deficit (FD) are expected to be 2.51% (Rs 22351.82 crore) and 3.84% (Rs 34201.11 crore).
iv.The Capital Expenditure (CapEx) is allocated at Rs 10301.65 crore, a significant increase from Rs 8346.62 crore in RE of 2024-2025.
v.The Revenue Expenditure (RevEX) is allocated at Rs 135697.60 crore, an increase from Rs 132405.13 crore in RE of 2024-2025.
Unique Initiatives:
i.The Government of Punjab launched the “Yudh Nashe De Virudh” (War Against Drugs) Campaign on 1 March 2025 to completely eradicate drugs from Punjab by involving all sections of society.
ii.To control cross-border drug smuggling, for the first time in Punjab’s history, the government will establish a second line of defense at the border by deploying 5,000 home guards alongside the Border Security Force (BSF).
- The Government will also implement advanced and effective anti-drone systems, with a Rs 110 crore budget.
iii.Additionally, to enhance law enforcement, Punjab Police will expand its Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) fleet sixfold, reducing response time to 8 minutes.
iv.A new state-of-the-art headquarters for the Dial 112 response team will also be built in Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS)Nagar (Former Name Mohali), with Rs 178 crore allocated for these initiatives in FY 2025-26.
Health:
i.A budgetary allocation of Rs 5,598 crore has been provided in FY 2025-26 for the health sector, an increase of 10% over the previous year.
ii.For the first time in Punjab’s history, the government has decided to extend the state health insurance scheme in the coming year to make it a Universal scheme.
- It covers 65 lakh families of Punjab with no discrimination between rural/urban or rich/poor for health insurance.
iii.The insurance coverage for all the families of Punjab will be extended to Rs 10 lakh per annum, including those who enrolled in the Central government scheme.
- They will get an additional top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh from the State government.
iv.Families covered under the Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana will receive a ‘Sehat Card’ next year to avail of a cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh in government and private hospitals across Punjab.
v.The FARISHTEY Scheme is being allocated Rs 10 crore to provide immediate treatment for accident victims and incentivize good Samaritans.
Sports:
i.The Punjab government is launching a mega Sports initiative, Khed-da Punjab, Badalda Punjab, to engage youth and promote sports excellence.
- Under this initiative, the government will upgrade and modernize 13 Centers of Excellence (CoEs) for national and international athletes.
ii.The sports department has a record budget allocation of Rs 979 crore, the highest in Punjab’s history, surpassing the combined sports spending of previous governments from 2012 to 2022.
Other Initiatives:
i.The Punjab government has launched the “Badalde Pind, Badalda Punjab” initiative to uplift all 12,581 villages in the state over the next 2 years, with a Rs 3,500 crore budget for the coming year.
ii.The Rangla Punjab Vikas Scheme will be introduced in every district to address key local developmental needs based on public feedback. A total of Rs 585 crore (Rs 5 crore per constituency) has been allocated for this initiative in the budget.
- Administered by District Commissioners (DCs), the scheme will focus on infrastructure improvements, including roads, bridges, streetlights, healthcare, education, water, and sanitation.
iii.To ensure bright towns and villages, the “Mukh Mantri Street Light Yojana” will install 2.5 lakh streetlights using an innovative model, with Rs 115 crore allocated for the initiative.
iv.Rs 7,614 crore budget is proposed for providing 300 units of free power per month to domestic consumers in FY 2025-26.
v.To support the farmers, an allocation of Rs 9,992 crore has been made in the FY26 Budget for providing power subsidies to the agriculture sector.
vi.The Punjab Government, under its ‘Badalda Punjab’ initiative, has announced a loan waiver scheme for 4,650 beneficiaries who defaulted on loans taken through the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation (PSCFC) until March 31, 2020.
vii.For FY 26, a Rs 9,340 crore allocation has been proposed to support marginalized communities.
- To uplift Scheduled Castes (SC), Backward Classes (BC), and minorities, Rs 13,987 crore has been allocated under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP), comprising 34% of the State’s total development budget.
viii.Additionally, Rs 450 crore has been allocated to continue the free bus travel scheme for women, which has facilitated over 12 crore trips this year.
ix.Rs 17,975 crore has been allocated for the Education sector (12% of total expenditure).
- Punjab received the “Best State” award, and Hoshiarpur won the “Best District” award under the Green Schools Programme (GSP) at the Green Schools Awards 2025.
About Punjab:
Chief Minister (CM)- Bhagwant Singh Mann
Governor– Gulab Chand Kataria
Wildlife Sanctuaries– Bir Dosanjh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Bhadson Wildlife Sanctuary
Zoological Park– Bir Talab
