The Bhagwant Man Government’s Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana is providing timely financial support to eligible women across the state at a time when rising household expenses, college admission costs and inflation are putting increasing pressure on family budgets.

Nearly 33 lakh women beneficiaries, who completed their registration by 25 June 2026, have received the assistance directly in their bank accounts, while the remaining eligible beneficiaries will receive it on 1 August. Almost 70 lakh women have enrolled under the scheme so far.

The scheme’s beneficiary profile shows that it is reaching women at a stage in life when financial responsibilities are often at their peak. More than half of all beneficiaries belong to the 36–45 years (25.2%) and 46–59 years (25.4%) age groups, together accounting for over 50% of the total beneficiaries.

These are the years when families typically shoulder their greatest financial commitments. Parents have to pay for their children’s education, college admissions, marriages, healthcare, housing, loan repayments and the care of ageing parents, while also planning for their own future. During this phase of life, every rupee counts. The monthly assistance under the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana is helping women contribute directly to their households while easing the burden of essential expenses.

For many families, the assistance has become an important source of support for education, healthcare and everyday household needs.

Sunita Rani (48), a resident of Dhani Kharaswali village in Fazilka district, said the monthly assistance has enabled her to support her children’s education. “My daughter is pursuing a B.Tech degree and my son studies in Class XI. I have used most of the money to pay my son’s school fees and given the remaining amount to my husband. As a housewife, I have no independent income, so this assistance has given me the satisfaction of contributing to my family’s needs. My husband is also very happy with this support. Earlier, we received free electricity, then ₹10 lakh health insurance, and now this monthly financial support. The government has introduced several welfare schemes, especially for women,” she said.

She added that the assistance has reduced financial stress and helped ensure that her children’s education continues without interruption.

For Pachho (55), a resident of Ward No. 17 in Ferozepur, the scheme has provided much-needed relief during a particularly difficult phase of life. A widow living with her divorced daughter and grandson, Pachho has been struggling with poor health and limited financial resources. “I spent part of the money on my treatment and saved the rest for household expenses. My husband passed away years ago, and we have been living in difficult circumstances. This assistance from the Bhagwant Mann Government has been a great support for us,” she added.

She said the financial assistance also helped her pay her grandson’s school fees. Having assisted several people in applying for the scheme, she expressed happiness that many deserving families had benefited.

Karamjit Kaur (46), a member of a self-help group, said the monthly assistance has helped her meet everyday expenses while allowing her to invest in her family’s future. “Main taan is paise naal apni ainak banwai te scooty vich petrol pawa liya.” (I bought a new pair of spectacles and filled petrol in my scooter with this money.) “In the coming months, I plan to use it for my son’s sports expenses. He is a national-level hockey player,” she added.

A former kabaddi player herself, Karamjit appreciated the government’s focus on promoting sports alongside welfare initiatives aimed at improving the lives of ordinary families.

Preeti (28), another beneficiary from Fazilka, works as a domestic helper and is raising two school-going sons. She said the assistance arrived when education costs were becoming increasingly difficult to manage. “This money has helped us pay our children’s school fees. It has come at the right time and reduced our financial burden,” she said.

Similarly, widow Baljit Kaur said the monthly assistance has enabled her to meet medical expenses that had become increasingly difficult to afford, providing much-needed financial relief.

The experiences of beneficiaries across Punjab reflect the broader impact of the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, demonstrating how timely financial assistance is helping women manage household responsibilities, support their families and navigate periods of heightened financial pressure.

Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond on Saturday wrote to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking the regularisation of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) employees under the newly introduced VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission) scheme and urging the Centre to formulate a uniform national policy guaranteeing their job security.

Reaffirming that the Bhagwant Mann Government stands firmly with over 2,100 MGNREGA employees in Punjab, the Minister questioned the Centre’s decision to shift the financial burden of the new scheme onto states while leaving employees’ future uncertain, demanded the immediate release of pending salaries, and asserted that employees who have strengthened rural development programmes for nearly two decades cannot be abandoned after 18 years of service.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday at Punjab Bhawan, Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said, “This is a very sensitive issue, and it is entirely related to the BJP-led Central Government. However, all the opposition parties, whether it is the Congress, the Akali Dal or the BJP in Punjab, are trying to divert the issue and mislead people so that the entire matter is blamed on the Punjab Government. It is very important that the truth and the facts are placed before the people.”

The Rural Development and Panchayat Minister said, “The MGNREGA scheme was introduced in India around 2005 under an Act through which the Central Government was to provide employment to every household. The scheme has been implemented in Punjab for nearly 18 years, and employment has been provided to people in villages under this Act.”

The Minister said, “To provide employment under this scheme, around 2,000 to 2,100 employees, including Technical Assistants (TAs), Gram Rozgar Sahayaks (GRSs) and Computer Operators, have been working under this completely Central Government scheme for the last 18 years.”

He said, “Instead of taking care of these employees and regularising their services, not only in Punjab but across the country, the BJP-led Central Government discontinued the existing MGNREGA scheme and announced that a new scheme would come into force from July 1.”

Raising questions over the decision, Tarunpreet Singh Sond said, “The biggest question is how the hard work put in by these employees over the last 18 years can be wiped out in a single moment. They worked under a Central Government Act and a Central Government scheme for all these years. The Punjab Government had no role whatsoever in this scheme.”

The Minister said, “The salaries of these employees were paid entirely by the Central Government because it was a 100 percent Central Government scheme. But instead of protecting their rights, the Centre discontinued the scheme, forcing nearly 2,100 employees to sit in protest.”

He pointed out, “The employees have made it clear that they do not want to shift to the new scheme because after serving for 18 years, they have no certainty about when they will be regularised. Their demand is justified.”

Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said, “I want to make it absolutely clear that the Punjab Government, under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, the entire Council of Ministers and the whole government stand firmly with these 2,100 employees who have been working under the Central Government’s MGNREGA scheme. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them. The Centre has openly violated their democratic rights by making them work for 18 years and then discontinuing the scheme.”

The Minister asserted, “As Punjab’s Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, I have written to Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Through this letter, I want to tell the Central Government that it should wake up, recognise the rights of these employees and regularise them after the years they have devoted to a Central Government scheme.”

Rural Development & Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond Writes to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The Government of India has abruptly discontinued the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and, in its place, launched the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) scheme on July 1. Under this new scheme, the financial burden has been shifted by the Union Government to all the State Governments across the country.

The hardworking employees who have been serving under MGNREGA for the past two decades have now been compelled by the Government of India to continue under the new scheme on a contractual basis. In my home state of Punjab, these employees are on strike as the discontinuation of MGNREGA by the Government of India has put their livelihoods at risk.

The primary reason behind their protest and strike is that more than 2,100 contractual employees, including Technical Assistants, Computer Assistants and others, who have been serving for the last 18 years, are demanding that their services be regularised under the new scheme.

The Punjab Government supports their demand. At the same time, it urges you to make a provision under the new scheme for the regularisation of all these employees. This is not an issue confined to Punjab alone. Employees across the country are facing the same situation.

We demand that the Union Government provide permanent employment to these employees across the country. The Punjab Government stands firmly with them in this regard.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab Chief Spokesperson and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal strongly reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Punjab, describing it as a “flop show.” Dhaliwal said that the Prime Minister’s visit was not only disappointing for Punjab, but that the statements made by him were hollow and intended to mislead the people.

Addressing a press conference along with AAP leader Gurpratap Singh on Saturday, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal launched a direct attack on the BJP, saying that those who can steal donations in the name of a sacred place like the Ram Mandir can never be honest towards the nation. He said that the BJP openly stole donations by exploiting the faith of people across the country in the name of the construction of the Ram Mandir.

Dhaliwal said that Prime Minister Modi has worked only to benefit his favourite industrialists, Ambani and Adani. He said that the Union Government has withheld thousands of crores of Punjab’s Rural Development Fund (RDF) and other funds. When we take loans for Punjab’s development, they accuse us of mismanagement, whereas the truth is that the Union Government is sitting on Punjab’s rightful funds.

He said that every loan being taken by the Bhagwant Mann Government is not meant to benefit any industrialist, but is being spent on hospitals, schools, colleges, roads, healthcare facilities, pensions for the poor and public welfare schemes. Punjab’s money is being spent only on the people of Punjab.

On the issue of blending 20% ethanol in petrol, Dhaliwal termed it another burden on the common people’s pocket. He questioned under which law this is being imposed on the people. He said that it was claimed ethanol blending would make fuel cheaper, but instead prices have increased further, placing a direct burden on the common man. He said that this policy is benefiting a few selected companies while the common people are paying the price. He said that instead of delivering speeches in Punjab, the Prime Minister should tell the nation under which law this arrangement has been implemented and what benefit the public has received from it.

On the issue of drugs, Dhaliwal held the BJP accountable, saying that drugs spread in Punjab during the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance government. He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been continuously urging the Union Government to install modern anti-drone systems along Punjab’s 532-kilometre international border to stop the smuggling of drugs and weapons through drones from Pakistan, but the Centre has not taken any effective step in this direction till date. He further said that the Prime Minister remained completely silent on the issue of farmers as well. Despite the martyrdom of 720 farmers and the promise of ₹1,600 crore for flood victims, the Union Government has not given even a single penny till date.

Dhaliwal said that during his visit, the Prime Minister did not explain what impact the trade agreement with the United States would have on the farmers of Punjab. He said that Punjab’s farmers have been consistently expressing their concerns, but instead of listening to their voices, the Union Government continues to deliver only political speeches.

Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the Prime Minister came empty-handed and returned empty-handed. He asked the BJP leaders of Punjab to tell the people what exactly the Prime Minister gave to Punjab. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party Government in Punjab stood by the flood-affected people by providing compensation of ₹20,000 per acre along with other relief assistance, whereas the Union Government continued to make false promises. Under such circumstances, he said, the Prime Minister’s visit was nothing more than rubbing salt into Punjab’s wounds.