Chandigarh, March 9 -- The Punjab government has placed health and education at the centre of its 2026-27 budget, announcing major increases in allocations for the two sectors along with expanded welfare measures.

Presenting the budget, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the state government has increased the health sector allocation by 23% to Rs.6,879 crore, while the education sector outlay has been raised by 7% to Rs.19,279 crore, with a focus on flagship programmes of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Among key healthcare initiatives, Rs.2,000 crore has been earmarked for the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, an ambitious health insurance programme providing Rs.10 lakh annual health cover per family. The scheme, recently launched by the gov...