CHANDIGARH: With an eye on the 2027 assembly elections, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday rolled out 'Mukhya Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana' to fulfil the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s promise to give a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to general category women and Rs 1,500 to women from SC families.
After registering around 90 lakh women beneficiaries, the government plans to begin disbursing assistance from July. Mann launched the registration process, making all women above 18 years eligible with a simple three-document requirement, while ensuring doorstep access through an extensive network of camps and support staff.
The rollout began in nine constituencies and will expand across the remaining 108 from May 15, with payments starting in July. There is no deadline for registration, effectively guaranteeing benefits to every eligible woman regardless of when she enrols.
CM Mann clarified that delayed registration would not affect benefits. "They will get their full payment payable from July onwards, so even if they register at the end of September, they will get full payment for three months, meaning July, August and September," Mann said.
As many as 26,000 registration centres and dedicated Mahila Satkar Sakhis are deployed in every village and ward, to ensure 100 per cent coverage of all women above 18 years and to handhold them through the registration process.
Accompanied by senior leader and Punjab AAP in-charge Manish Sisodia, CM Mann announced that the scheme was rolled on a pilot basis across nine locations -- Adampur, Malout, Anandpur Sahib, Dirba, Sunam, Moga, Kotkapura, Batala and Patiala Rural.
Detailing the documentation process, Mann said, "For registration, only three documents are required -- Aadhaar with Punjab address, Voter ID from Punjab and Bank passbook. In case of SC women, SC certificate is also required."
Addressing concerns of women who do not have caste certificates, Mann said, "I know many of my SC sisters and mothers don't have a certificate but they don't have to worry and just apply for their certificate."
He added, "If that is taking time, then don’t have to worry. They too can register under the scheme without the certificate and start getting Rs 1,000 monthly. However, whenever their certificate comes, the state government will pay them a difference of Rs 500 per month as well from July onwards. There is no need to worry on this front".
He further noted, "If the beneficiary is missing any document like voter ID or bank account, Mahila Satkar Sakhis will help them in getting that made too. Mahila Satkar Sakhi will guide them at every step."
Mann said, "Once they have filled in their registration form and have all their documents ready, they can visit their nearest registration centre and submit it there."
"The scheme is therefore expected to benefit more than 97 per cent of the women, making it one of the most comprehensive women-centric social protection initiatives in the country,’’ he claimed.
He also said that Rs 9,300 crore has already been sanctioned in the 2026-27 budget for the scheme.