Punjab FM tables Rs 1.96 lakh crore Budget with focus on education, health, employment, agriculture

Finance Minister of Punjab, Harpal Singh Cheema, tabled the Rs 1.96 lakh crore Budget of the AAP government for the financial year 2023–24 on Friday. The size of the Budget was Rs 1.55 lakh crore in 2022–23.

Cheema lauded the AAP government in Punjab under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. As per the Punjab Finance Minister, Mann has successfully eliminated the ‘mighty mafia.’

In this year’s Budget, a major share of Rs 9,331 crore has been allocated for free power to farmers, and Rs 4,781 is set to be proposed for health and family welfare, which is 11 percent higher than the previous year.

The Punjab government has been putting stress on education and is ready to allocate Rs 17,072 crore for school and higher education, which would be 12 percent more than last year.

Harpal Cheema highlighted the achievements of the one-year-old AAP government in the state. He said overall, 10 lakh people have got free treatment in Aam Aadmi Clinics since the opening of the medical centers.

Lauding the state government’s achievement, the finance minister went on to say that the government opened several quality schools and apart from this, overall 26,797 jobs have been provided in the government as well as its agencies.

Harpal Cheema further added that the government’s focus in this Budget is on education, health, employment, and agriculture.

The government has been planning to form a new agriculture policy, and for this, help will be taken from the experts. The AAP government is adamant about increasing the income of farmers in the state by boosting agriculture and related activities.

Since the beginning of the policy of providing 300 units of free electricity, about 90 percent of households have not had to pay even a single penny.

Cheema regretted that the state government has been facing step motherly treatment from the Center by withholding funds of Rs 9,035 crore.