Pb’s Rs 2,36,080 cr Budget focuses on social reforms, infra, public welfare

Chandigarh: The Punjab government unveiled its Budget for the financial year 2025-26 with an allocation of Rs 2,36,080 crore.

The “Badlda Punjab” budget reflects the state’s commitment to social reform, infrastructure development, and public welfare. Presented by Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday, the budget highlights a multifaceted approach towards addressing critical issues and fostering inclusive growth.

Among the budget’s pivotal priorities is the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign, an initiative aimed at combating drug abuse and smuggling, particularly from across the border. A budget of Rs 110 crore has been allocated towards anti-drugs initiatives for FY 2025-26.

Furthermore, the introduction of the country’s first drug census with proposal to spend Rs 150 crore on this initiative in FY 2025-26, signifies an innovative step towards understanding the extent of drug addiction, collecting data from every household to devise targeted rehabilitation strategies.

Rolling out a mega sports initiative called “Khed-da Punjab, Badalda Punjab”, the Finance Minister proposed a budget estimate of Rs Rs 979 crore for FY 2025-26, an increase of 355 percent in comparison to revised budget estimates of FY 2024-25. “This amount is greater than the amount that the Akali-BJP and Congress governments jointly spent on Sports in 10 years from 2012 to 2022,” the government said.

Rs 11,560 crore has been allocated for Home Affairs, Jails, Law and Justice. Punjab’s 112 emergency response service will now boast the fastest response time in India, reduced from 30 minutes to an impressive 8 minutes.

Cheema further proposed a budget estimate of Rs 5,598 for Health and Family Welfare with an increase of 10 percent in comparison to revised budget estimates of FY 2024-25. He mentioned huge progress towards universalizing access to primary health care by setting up 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics.

The Finance Minister also announced that the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab government has decided to extend the state health insurance scheme in the coming year to make it universal and cover all the 65 lakh families of Punjab.

Rural development has taken center stage with a comprehensive “Badalde Pind, Badalda Punjab” plan to rejuvenate villages across Punjab. A total of Rs 3,500 crore will be spent under this initiative next fiscal year.