Punjab Budget 2025: Total expenditure of ₹2.36 lakh crore, state's first ‘drug census’ | Key announcements

Punjab Budget 2025: Harpal Cheema announced allocation of ₹500 crore to support farmers, cooperatives, and gram panchayats for crop residue management.

Punjab Budget 2025: Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday presented the state budget for 2025-26 in the assembly, making it the Aam Aadmi Party government's third budget after coming to power in the region in 2022.

Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the budget as chief minister Bhagwant Mann looked on in the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh.(Ravi Kumar/HT Photo)

Cheema proposed a total budget expenditure of ₹2,36,080 crore, saying that Punjab will carry out its first-ever "drug census" to understand the prevalent narcotics issue in the state and the usage of de-addiction centres there.

The finance minister said the state's effective revenue deficit and fiscal deficit are expected to be at 2.51 per cent and 3.84 per cent, respectively.

Citing Advanced Estimates data provided by the Directorate of Statistics, Cheema said Punjab's economy is on a trajectory of strong growth, registering a 9 per cent growth in the current year.

He said as a result of this growth, Punjab's gross state domestic product (GSDP) at current prices has reached ₹8,09,538 crore. Cheema added that this momentum of growth is likely to continue, with the GSDP at current prices being projected to expand by 10 per cent in FY 2025-26, reaching the mark of ₹8,91,301 crore.

Punjab Budget 2025 | Key takeaways

• Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, presenting the state budget for FY 2025-26, earmarked ₹150 crore to spend on “drug census” in Punjab. This census will cover every household of the state, collecting data to understand the prevalence of drugs, usage of de-addiction centres, etc. He added that other than the data on people's socio-economic status, the state will also use this data to come up with an effective strategy to eliminate the drug problem within the next couple of years.
• Cheema announced that the state will establish a second line of defence at its border by deploying 5,000 home guards alongside the Border Security Force (BSF) to keep a check on drug smuggling. The minister expressed concern over the bulk of drugs coming to Punjab from across the border, saying that it is the primary responsibility of the Centre to bring a halt to the cross-border smuggling of arms and drugs, as the 50 km area along the International Border falls under BSF's jurisdiction. "We have now decided to complement the efforts of BSF by undertaking two initiatives to completely block cross-border smuggling of drugs," Cheema said.
• The Punjab government will also launch a key initiative to strengthen the fleet of Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) that respond to '112' calls, with a proposed budget of ₹125 crore. At present, the Punjab police operates a fleet of 258 dedicated ERVs, keeping the average response time to distress calls up to a limit of 30 minutes. But for next year, the state has decided to procure 758 four-wheelers and 916 two-wheelers to deploy them as ERVs, increasing the size of the entire fleet by six times. "With this, we will reduce the average response time to emergency calls to 8 minutes, which will be the lowest in the country," the finance minister said.
• FM Harpal Cheema also announced that a state-of-the-art headquarters for the 'Dial 112' response team will also be constructed in Mohali's SAS Nagar, equipped with the latest of technologies and facilities. He announced that ₹53 crore will allocated from the state budget towards this initiative.
• A reduction in the cost of availing government services at doorstep was also announced, bringing the price down from ₹120 to ₹50. Cheema said the balance of ₹70 will be borne by the state government.
• The finance minister announced the allocation of ₹500 crore to support farmers, cooperatives, and gram panchayats for crop residue management and to keep a check on stubble burning specifically during paddy harvest.
• The Punjab government also announced the extension of state health insurance in the coming year, aimed at making it universal and covering all 65 lakh families of the state. The finance minister said there would be no criteria or discrimination, and the scheme would be applicable to all, rural or urban, rich or poor. The government also decided to extend the insurance cover for all Punjab families to ₹10 lakh per annum. Those enrolled in the central government schemes will also benefit from the state government's scheme, receiving an additional cover of ₹5 lakh.
• Finance minister Cheema also announced that all families of Punjab, covered under the Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana, will receive a 'Sehat Card' next year. This will help them avail cashless treatment of up to ₹10 lakh in government and private hospitals across the state.
• Punjab government also allocated ₹14,524 crore for the agriculture and allied sectors in the next financial year, a 5 per cent increase from previous year. A budget of ₹250 crore has also been allocated for sugarcane purchase.
• The finance minister announced a new scheme for Bathinda, Kapurthala and Gurdaspur districts for 'Kharif Maize crop' to incentivize crop diversification. Around 21,000 hectare area will be diversified from paddy to kharif maize to encourage ethanol production to achieve the target of 20 per cent blending of the renewable fuel by 2025, as set by the union government. Additionally, farmers will also get a subsidy of ₹17,500 per hectare for switching to Kharif maize cultivation, providing benefit to around 30,000 farmers.
• In the state budget for 2025-26, a fund of ₹100 crore has been earmarked for the construction, renovation and upgradation of jail infrastructure in Punjab. Meanwhile, ₹233 crore has been proposed for the modernization and upgradation of police infrastructure, including construction and renovation of police complexes, purchase of land of cop lines, police stations, and housing for police personnel.
• Finance minister Harpal Cheema said that a budget at an estimated cost ₹132 crore is also being proposed in this year's budget for the enhancement of Punjab's judicial infrastructure, to construct court complexes in Derabassi, Khanna, and Patran.
• The state budget for 2025-26 has earmarked ₹300 crore for the Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project (PMSIP), which aims to strengthen urban governance, finances, and thedelivery of sustainable water services for the people of Amritsar and Ludhiana.
• A whopping ₹5,983 crore has been allocated to develop housing and urban local areas. The finance minister also announced the 'Mukh Mantri Street Light Yojana'. aimed at installing 2.5 lakh street lights across the state next year.
• For FY 2025-26, the total revenue receipts have been projected to be ₹1,11,740 crore. Of this, the own tax revenue accounts for ₹63,250 crore. Meanwhile, the share of central taxes has been pegged at ₹25,703 crore and grant-in-aid from the Centre at ₹10,576 crore, FM Cheema announced. The Punjab government has also set an ambitious goods and services tax (GST) target of ₹27,650 crore for the next financial year.