Punjab's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has announced a scheme to transfer ₹1,000 per month to all adult women, with ₹1,500 for those from the Scheduled Caste community.
The 'Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satikar Yojana' (Chief Minister's Respect for Mother and Daughters Scheme) is designed to cover approximately 97% of all adult women in Punjab, the highest such coverage in India.
The scheme, announced by finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on International Women's Day, will be nearly universal, with every woman above 18 years of age eligible to enroll, barring a few exceptions.
The budget for the next fiscal has proposed a total expenditure of ₹2,60,437 crore, with ₹18,304 crore allocated for social welfare and justice, the highest-ever allocation for the department.
