‘Panjab Ignored in Union Budget; Records Growth in GST Collection’

Panjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led union government of ‘completely ignoring’ the state’s needs in the Union Budget 2026–27. Cheema said, ‘There is no mention of Panjab anywhere in the budget and no reference to the long-pending Rural Development Fund of USD 94M that is legitimately due to the state.’ Simultaneously, following the recommendations of the Finance Commission, the Revenue Deficit Grant to all states, including Panjab, will come down to zero in 2025–26. The move marks a significant shift in union-state fiscal relations and signals the end of a major support mechanism that several states, including Panjab, have relied upon in recent years. However, Cheema noted that Panjab has recorded growth in its Goods and Service Tax (GST) collections in January 2026: while the gross collection in January stood at USD 27M, the net GST collection registered a year-on-year growth of USD 38M, marking a 15.7% increase over January 2025. He added that the achievement is noteworthy as the state faced an estimated monthly revenue loss of around USD 30M due to GST 2.0 rate reductions impacting key sectors—yarn, textiles, hosiery, pharmaceuticals, insurance, tyres, and cement. He also said that a key highlight of January 2026 was the exceptional performance in State GST cash collections, which grew by 14.4%, the highest growth rate among all Indian states for the month. Meanwhile, union minister of Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi said the union government has released funds to the tune of USD 31.86M for Mission Saksham Anganwadi (child care) and Poshan 2.0 (food); USD 1.62M for Mission Vatsalya (mothers); and USD 4.20M for Mission Shakti (women’s empowerment) in Panjab in 2024–25. The union government also claims to have released more than USD 130M as Fifteenth Finance Commission grants to strengthen Panchayati Raj (grassroots) institutions and other rural bodies in Madhya Pradesh, Panjab, and Telangana in 2025–26 (earlier coverage).