Punjab's ₹1,000 a month for women: who gets it, how to register and what it costs

Punjab now pays most adult women in the state a monthly cash allowance. Under the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, a woman who qualifies gets ₹1,000 every month, and a Scheduled Caste woman ₹1,500, credited directly to her bank account.

The scheme fulfils a promise the Aam Aadmi Party made before the 2022 assembly election. It was announced in the March 8, 2026, budget, launched on April 14, the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, and began paying out on July 1. With Punjab due to vote again in early 2027, it has become one of the main issues of the campaign.

Who is eligible?

Almost every adult woman who lives in Punjab and is a voter there. The rules require a woman to be 18 or older, a registered voter in Punjab, and to hold an Aadhaar card showing that she lives in the state. The government expects the scheme to reach more than 97% of women in Punjab.

Women in contractual, outsourced and temporary jobs can apply, and so can women who already get a social security pension such as a widow, old-age or disability pension. Those pensions continue separately.

Who is left out?

Taxpayers, government employees and political families. The state’s notification excludes any woman who pays income tax, however small the amount, regular government employees and retired government staff, and sitting and former MLAs and MPs and their spouses. If a woman is found to be ineligible at any stage, payments stop at once.

How do I register?

In person, for free, with three documents. Registration happens at more than 26,000 centres across the state, including anganwadi centres, Sewa Kendras and municipal offices. You need:

• an Aadhaar card with a Punjab address,
• a Punjab voter ID card, and
• a bank passbook for the account where the money will go.

About two lakh volunteers called Mahila Satkar Sakhis help women in every village and ward, including those whose documents are incomplete. Registration opened on April 15 as a pilot in nine constituencies (Adampur, Malout, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Dirba, Sunam, Moga, Kotkapura, Batala and Patiala Rural) and was extended to the remaining 108 from May 15.

What if I register late, or have no SC certificate yet?

You do not lose money either way. Because there is no deadline, a woman who registers late is paid from July 2026, the month payments began, with the earlier months as arrears. A Scheduled Caste woman who does not yet have her caste certificate can register and receive ₹1,000 a month; once she submits the certificate, the extra ₹500 a month is paid back to July.

How much has been paid so far?

About ₹3,722 crore by early October. The first payment, made on July 1, covered July, August and September in one go: ₹3,000 for most women and ₹4,500 for Scheduled Caste women. By July 12 the state had transferred ₹1,147 crore to nearly 33 lakh women who had registered by June 25.

On October 8, Social Security Minister Baljit Kaur said ₹2,602.46 crore had been paid for July to September to more than 75 lakh women, and ₹1,118.93 crore had gone out as the first instalment of the second phase to over 32 lakh women. More than 79 lakh women had registered, and the government expects the scheme eventually to reach over one crore.

What does it cost Punjab?

₹9,300 crore in this year’s budget, in one of India’s most indebted states. That is the amount set aside in the 2026-27 budget, roughly 6% of budgeted spending excluding debt repayment. Punjab’s outstanding liabilities reached ₹4.13 lakh crore in 2025-26, according to RBI data, equal to 46.4% of the state’s economic output, the third highest ratio among Indian states after Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

For many women the money is the first income that is entirely their own.

Punjab is not alone. Monthly payments to women in other states range from ₹1,000 in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh to ₹3,000 in West Bengal, which has budgeted about ₹36,000 crore for its scheme this year. The worry about Punjab is room in the budget: salaries, pensions and interest took 85% of its revenue receipts in 2024-25, and are projected at 72% in 2026-27.

Why does it matter for the 2027 election?

Because AAP will campaign on it, and its rivals will campaign against its timing. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has called the scheme proof that his government has kept its 2022 promises, and says the opposition’s criticism shows it fears AAP will return to power. Opponents note that the promise was made in 2022 but paid only from mid-2026, a few months before the vote.

For voters, the practical point is simpler: the payments come from a notified state scheme with its own budget line, not from a party. Any government formed after the 2027 election will decide whether the allowance continues, changes or is replaced.