For Gursimran Kaur, who lives in Mohali, Punjab, the Rs 3,000 credited to her account under the Mukhya Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana on July 1 has given her financial freedom she had never experienced. “So far, I have had to give an account for every penny spent. But now, for the first time in my life, someone is giving me money that I can spend on anything that I wish for,” says the 58-year-old housewife.
Kaur is among the 40 lakh women in Punjab who have registered for the scheme launched by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, under which eligible women will get Rs 1,000 per month. For those falling in the Scheduled Caste category, the amount is fixed at Rs 1,500 per month. The first payment, for July, August and September, was credited as a lump sum of Rs 3,000/Rs 4,500 in the accounts of these women.
The timing isn’t coincidental. Punjab is going to polls next year. Many in the state are lauding the welfare scheme, particularly aimed at women, considering female labour force participation has remained below the national average and unemployment has stayed persistently high between 2017-18 and 2022–23. This direct income support will not only make women financially independent; it will also help deal with the long-running economic challenge ailing the state. It, however, raises a larger question: can one of India’s most indebted states sustain a recurring commitment of this scale?
