Rs 1,400 crore, 36 lakh beneficiaries: Mann launches Rs 1,000/month aid for women

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday rolled out its much-awaited flagship monthly financial assistance scheme for women — the Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojna — as multiple government departments and banks, in a coordinated exercise, ensured that the first instalment reached nearly 36 lakh beneficiaries’ accounts without a glitch. Calling the day “historic”, Mann said the scheme will pave the way for women empowerment.

“Women deserve the highest respect because they are the source of life itself. Strengthening women’s financial autonomy is essential for improving household welfare, promoting gender equity and enhancing women’s participation in social and economic decision-making,” he said, adding that although the financial assistance may not make women rich, it would certainly provide them with dignity and self-respect.

“This is an ambitious scheme and we have launched it with complete planning to ensure that it continues permanently,” he said.

To ensure that the scheme was rolled out without a glitch, officials from the Social Security, Finance and Good Governance and Information Technology departments worked through Tuesday night to synchronise the transfer of funds so that women would receive SMS alerts from their banks while the Chief Minister was addressing the launch event from Dhuri, sources said.

“It was planned in such a way that as and when the Chief Minister started speaking, the money would start getting credited into the beneficiaries’ accounts,” a senior official said. Around 1,500 women invited to the launch function reportedly received bank messages during the event itself.

The Department of Good Governance and Information Technology developed dedicated software over the past month to facilitate the rollout. The beneficiary database maintained by the Social Security department was uploaded onto the platform before payments were processed through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

The government released three monthly instalments together. Women belonging to the general category received Rs 3,000, while Scheduled Caste women received Rs 4,500 in their bank accounts. Under the scheme, general category women are entitled to Rs 1,000 per month and Scheduled Caste women Rs 1,500 per month.

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The Finance Department had transferred around Rs 1,500 crore to the Social Security department, the nodal agency implementing the scheme, two days ago. According to sources, about Rs 1,400 crore was credited on Wednesday to nearly 36 lakh women. The cash-strapped government arranged the funds by borrowing Rs 1,000 crore from the market, while the remaining Rs 500 crore was mobilised from GMADA funds and labour welfare cess.

Mann said beneficiaries above 18 years of age would receive the ‘Satkar Rashi’ directly into their bank accounts and that women already receiving social security pensions would also be eligible. According to him, nearly 97 per cent of Punjab’s women are expected to benefit, with Rs 9,300 crore earmarked in the state Budget for the scheme.

Taking a swipe at Opposition parties, Mann said they had repeatedly questioned the government’s promise to implement the scheme. “Now their mouths will be shut,” he said.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who attended the launch along with Cabinet minister Aman Arora, said the implementation of the scheme demonstrated that the party honoured every promise made to the people.

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Government sources said the elaborate coordination behind the launch was intended to maximise the impact of one of the AAP government’s biggest welfare initiatives ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. They said the timing assumes political significance as the government seeks to regain the narrative after recent political challenges, including the Akal Takht’s censure of the Chief Minister over a controversial video. Officials also pointed to Mann’s decision to launch the scheme from his own constituency as politically significant.

Alongside the fund transfer, the government also undertook an extensive publicity exercise by sending a bulk SMS to mobile phone users across the Punjab telecom circle informing them that the three-month instalment under the scheme had been sanctioned and would be credited within 24 hours.

The messages, however, were not limited to beneficiaries. Men, Punjab government employees and journalists posted in Chandigarh also received the alerts if their mobile numbers were registered in the Punjab telecom circle.

Sources said the bulk messaging campaign was undertaken by the state’s Information and Public Relations Department as part of the government’s outreach strategy surrounding the launch.

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Women aged 18 years and above who are registered as voters in Punjab and possess Aadhaar reflecting Punjab residency along with a valid voter identity card are eligible under the scheme. Regular and retired government employees, elected MPs and MLAs, ministers and the spouses of serving ministers, MPs and MLAs are among those excluded from its ambit.