Punjab's Economic Decline: A Stark Reality
In 1993, Punjab ranked third among Indian states in per capita income. Today, at least 15 states have overtaken it. The state's average GSDP growth from 1991-92 to 1995-96 was 4.36%, and from 2001-02 to 2005-06, it fell to 4.34%. While other states grew post-liberalisation, Punjab stagnated. Currently, Punjab's per capita income is 106.7% of the national average, placing it behind 17 states and union territories. Haryana, carved out of Punjab in 1966, now stands at 176.8% of the national average, highlighting Punjab's relative decline.
Mounting Debt and Fiscal Stress
Punjab's debt has risen from Rs 2.83 lakh crore in 2022 to a projected Rs 4.17 lakh crore. The debt-to-GSDP ratio is nearly 46%, against Haryana's 25.5%. Punjab has the highest per capita debt in the country at Rs 1.23 lakh per citizen. For every Rs 100 taken, Rs 35 goes to clearing old liabilities and Rs 50 to interest payments, leaving only Rs 15 for productive investments. Capital expenditure is just 3.9% of revenue receipts, with the bulk consumed by salaries, pensions, interest, and subsidies.
Unfulfilled Promises: Women's Welfare Delayed
The promise of Rs 1,000 per month for women remained unfulfilled for four years. The scheme was finally announced in the March 2026 Budget, timed ahead of the 2027 elections. Critics argue this is electoral arithmetic rather than genuine welfare.
Drug Menace Worsens
Drug-related deaths rose from 89 in 2023 to 106 in 2024, with Punjab topping the country's drug overdose charts. The promise of a nasha-mukt Punjab within four months remains unfulfilled, and the state increasingly risks becoming a narcotics hub.
Security Challenges: Grenade Attacks and Gangster-Terror Nexus
Since September 2024, Punjab has witnessed more than 30 grenade and explosive attacks on police posts. ISI-backed modules and a revived gangster-terror nexus, with handlers from across the border and extremist elements in the overseas diaspora, are working to destabilise the state.
Industrial Decline: Investors Look Elsewhere
Ludhiana, known as the Manchester of India, is losing investment to states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, which offer policy certainty and efficient governance. Capital follows stability, and Punjab's investment climate fails to attract it.
According to Shehzad Poonawalla and Rudraksh Aneja, "This is not a plea for pity. Punjab has never asked for pity and should never do it. It is a plea for recognition, that this land of sarbat da bhala, of Guru Nanak's seva and the Green Revolution's audacity, of rangla Punjab, deserves far better than the managed decline it has been subjected to."
The chardi kala still smoulders in every Punjabi heart. What is missing is not the people. It is governance that is worthy of the Punjabis.
