A Scheduled Caste beneficiary in her 40s, Paramjeet was among the first women to receive the ‘Satkar Rashi’ under the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana, launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday from Dhuri. Battling ill health, she had recently been advised by doctors to improve her diet and raise her haemoglobin levels. For her, the first instalment meant she could finally afford to do so.

Across Punjab, thousands of women spent Wednesday with their eyes fixed not on the TV but on their mobile phone screens.

As Mann addressed the launch event, his speech was telecast live at programmes organised in all 117 Assembly constituencies. In Ludhiana, hundreds of women gathered at Dhand Palace in Shimlapuri for an event hosted by Atam Nagar MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu.

Forty-year-old Parampreet Kaur, dressed in a light mauve embroidered suit and sporting bright maroon lipstick, repeatedly refreshed her phone while listening to the Chief Minister. “The transfer of money has started and will continue over the next few days,” Mann assured women whose accounts had not yet been credited.

Even before the message from the bank landed in her inbox, Parampreet had already planned every rupee.

“My daughter has also registered under the scheme. She cleared Class XII this year and is joining college. Together we will receive Rs 6,000. She has been asking for new clothes for college — a middi, a fancy salwar-kameez and sandals. I kept postponing it. My husband works in a factory in Vishwakarma Colony and money is always tight. Now she can finally buy what she wanted. We will also keep some money aside for her books,” she said.

Under the scheme, general category women are entitled to Rs 1,000 per month and Scheduled Caste women Rs 1,500 per month. The Punjab government on Wednesday credited the Satkar Rashi for three months — July, August and September

For 51-year-old homemaker Rupinder Kaur of Daba Road, the money represented something more personal than financial relief.

“We don’t earn independently. We depend on our husbands or sons for even small household expenses. I have two married daughters and a son. With this money, I want to buy sweets, snacks and fruits and invite both my daughters home. It will be my treat to the family,” she said.

Reena, 47, from Daba Colony, whose husband has been unable to work after suffering a serious heart ailment two years ago, said the assistance would help the family build small savings.

“My daughter is also eligible, so together we will receive Rs 6,000. I plan to put Rs 1,000 every month into a post office savings scheme while my daughter can use her share for small personal needs that she otherwise avoids,” she said.

For Jasbir Kaur of Jawaddi village, who works as a domestic help in three houses, the scheme is tied directly to her daughter’s future.

“I am entitled to Rs 1,500 because I belong to the Scheduled Caste category, but I couldn’t upload my caste certificate while applying. I never got one made though the rest of my family has. I’ll get the certificate prepared now and hope the government updates my category. Even Rs 1,000 a month means a lot. My daughter is taking admission in BA first year and I will use this money for her admission,” she said.

Back in Dhuri, Mann’s address briefly paused as mobile phones across the venue simultaneously flashed bank credit messages.

“Paise aa gaye… paise aa gaye,” women shouted. One beneficiary from Harchandpur village was invited onto the stage to announce she had received Rs 4,500, while another AAP women’s wing functionary said the assistance would help improve the lives of her four daughters.

The Yojana fulfils one of the AAP government’s biggest electoral promises. During a rally in Moga in November 2021, AAP national convenor and then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had promised Rs 1,000 every month to every woman aged 18 years and above if the party came to power in Punjab.

Announcing the rollout, Mann said Rs 9,300 crore had been earmarked for the scheme, with nearly 97 per cent of Punjab’s women — around 98 lakh beneficiaries — expected to be covered. Women who pay income tax or are government employees and pensioners are excluded, while recipients of social security pensions remain eligible. AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia described the initiative as “not merely a transfer of money but a transfer of trust.”

The Opposition, however, accused the government of implementing the promise only months before the Assembly elections to woo women voters. Mann rejected the criticism, saying the scheme would continue uninterrupted. “It is our job to manage funds for the scheme. Consider it a gift from your son or uncle or brother,” he said.

Among many women in Ludhiana, however, there was cautious optimism. “The scheme has been launched at the fag end of the government’s term. Elections are only eight months away. Who knows who comes to power next?” one beneficiary remarked.

Yet, for most women gathered there, politics took a back seat to celebration. Tea, cold drinks, pakoras, a DJ, a dhol and a flower-decorated selfie point turned the venue into a festive gathering. Many women arrived in their best suits while others completed registration formalities with government-appointed “Sakhis”.

“Many of these women struggle to make ends meet. Yet today they have come dressed beautifully. For them, this is a celebration,” said Balwinder Kaur, one of the Sakhis assisting beneficiaries.

As Punjabi songs, including Dhol Jageero Da, filled the hall, women danced, laughed and queued up for plates of pakoras and cups of tea. Many quietly packed a few pakoras to take home for their children.

For some, the first instalment meant books or college clothes. For others, it meant savings, better food, or the simple joy of buying a dragon fruit they had only ever seen others eat.