On the occasion of Women’s Day, the Punjab government called a special session and announced ₹1,000 per month to women to fulfill the promise made during the 2022 elections.
SNPNEWS.IN News (Gurmail Kamboj): Politicians talk of a prosperous Punjab, but Now, due to vote politics and distributing free facilities as bribes to voters, the state is expected to become indebted to approximately ₹4.17 lakh crore by March 31. The current Punjab government has taken loans of about ₹1.34 lakh crore during its tenure.
According to Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, around 80-85% of the government’s debt has been used for repaying old loans and interest, with only about 15% available for new development works.
After examining the figures, the big question is: No matter which political party it is, they do not hesitate to ruin Punjab to please the vote bank. Politicians’ political hunger is putting the people’s property at stake for freebie distribution and inocent public considering the “bandar” (monkey-like) sharing of freebies as development.
The big question is: Until when will the Punjab government (of any party) continue to take loans and distribute free goodies to the people? Currently, Punjab’s condition is like earning 50 paise but spending 1 rupee.
Annual expenditure for providing free electricity to agriculture: ₹9,992 crore
Expenditure for providing 300 units free electricity to households (2025-26): ₹7,614 crore
Budget for Mukh Mantri Maan Dhian Satkar Yojana: ₹9,300 crore (2026-27)
Estimated expenditure for Meri Rasoi Yojana: ₹2,000-4,000 crore (for the full scheme, announced in February 2026).
Annual expenditure for free bus travel for women/senior citizens: Around ₹800 crore (but recent reports indicate ₹2,042 crore)
Estimated for Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana: ₹2,000-3,000 crore (large portion in health budget).
Social security pensions (elderly, widows, disabled, etc.): ₹6,150-6,175 crore
Expenditure on government employees’ pensions and salaries: ₹57,178 crore (2025-26)
Annual budget for Punjab Vidhan Sabha operations: Approximately ₹738 crore.
Annual expenditure figures for MLAs, Chief Minister, former MLAs were not available.
The government is spending about 20-22% of its total revenue only on interest payments.
When and How Did Punjab Become Indebted?
After the state’s reorganization in 1966, the Punjab government started taking loans for development projects (such as irrigation, agriculture, basic infrastructure) and routine expenses. These loans were mainly taken from the Central Government or international institutions like the World Bank. In the 1970s, loans increased to support the Green Revolution through irrigation projects and agricultural subsidies.
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In 1966-67 (the first independent budget), the state began taking loans on a small scale. Reports indicate that in 1980-81, Punjab’s total debt was around ₹1,000 crore. During this period, the debt-to-GSDP ratio remained below 10-15%.
After 1984 (Operation Blue Star and the terrorism period), security expenses and economic slowdown increased the debt. The government had to take large loans for security, police, and rehabilitation projects. From this time, the outstanding debt began to rise clearly. Some data shows that between 1980-1990, the annual loan-taking rate exceeded ₹600 crore, and the debt-to-GSDP ratio reached 20-30%.
In the 1990s, after terrorism ended, loans were taken again for development projects. In December 1996, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Congress government) issued a notification under which farmers with up to 7 acres of land were to get free electricity (effective from January 1997). Those with more than 7 acres had to pay ₹50 per BHP per month.
In February/March 1997, Parkash Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal government) announced and provided free electricity to all farmers (regardless of land acres). This became effective from February 1997 and continued later (briefly canceled during Amarinder Singh’s tenure 2002-2005, but reinstated). Between 1997-2000, debt increased rapidly, with an average annual increase of ₹2,696 crore (up to 1990-2001), and debt-to-GSDP ratio remained 30-40%.
From 2001 to 2010, Punjab government’s annual debt increased significantly (debt-to-GSDP reached 48-49% in 2002-05). Punjab’s total debt went from ₹30,000-40,000 crore in 2000 to ₹80,000-1 lakh crore by 2010.
From 2010 to 2020, due to UDAY scheme, food subsidies, CCL loan takeover, free electricity to agriculture sector, and other schemes, development works, and government expenses, Punjab’s treasury became extremely fragile. By 2015-16, the indebted amount was ₹1.29 lakh crore, reaching ₹2.85 lakh crore by 2021-22. During this period, debt-to-GSDP averaged 40-48%.
Currently, the Punjab government spends approximately ₹50,000 crore annually on schemes like free electricity to farmers, 300 units free household electricity monthly, free bus travel, Atta Dal scheme (Meri Rasoi), Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra scheme, Muhalla clinics, health card, farmer loan waiver scheme, old age/disabled/widow pensions, ₹1,000 to women scheme, and many other subsidies.
The 2026-27 Punjab government budget is ₹2.60 lakh crore in total, with health ₹6,879 crore, education ₹19,279 crore, and a large portion of social welfare for free schemes.
At present, under the current Punjab government’s tenure, the approximate total debt is expected to reach ₹4.17 lakh crore by March 31, which is currently near ₹4.03 lakh crore. All these figures are approximate and averaged (taken from RBI Handbook, CAG reports, NITI Aayog, PRS India, and various budget reports).