Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also participated in the meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. During this period, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly raised many pending issues related to the state before the Central Government. The Chief Minister said in the meeting that keeping in mind the stability and security of the country, Punjab should be given the status of ‘Special Category State’. He also demanded to implement the ratio of 90:10 for Punjab in all centrally sponsored schemes on the lines of hilly states, north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to the geographical location of the state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Said that Punjab is a state located in the front line of security of the country, which shares a 553 km long international border with Pakistan. In such a situation, the state is constantly facing serious challenges like cross-border terrorism, supply of weapons through drones and drug smuggling. This has a direct impact on the youth of Punjab.
The issue of flood damage was raised
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that in 2025, there were devastating floods in many areas of the state. More than 2,300 villages of Punjab were badly affected. The state suffered a huge economic loss of about Rs 12,905 crore.
During this, the Chief Minister accused the Central Government of discriminating against the border areas. He said that more than 2,000 villages and towns of Punjab are adjacent to the border, but only 107 villages of Punjab are included in the Centre’s ‘Vibrant Village-II’ scheme. He said that there has been a huge lack of investment in the border districts for decades. Industries have migrated from here. The overall development of the state has been badly affected.
It is necessary for Punjab to be safe for developed India.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister clearly said that without a safe and prosperous Punjab, the country’s dream of ‘Developed India 2047’ can never be fulfilled. He assured the Central Government that as always, Punjab will play a leading role in achieving the goal of development of the country by working shoulder to shoulder with the Central Government.
Gave details of achievements in education-health sector
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also presented the achievements of the Punjab government. He said that under the ‘Mukhyamantri Swasthya Yojana’, cashless treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year is now being provided to every family in the state. This facility is available in about 900 government and empaneled private hospitals in the state.
Apart from this, 990 ‘Aam Aadmi Clinics’ have been successfully started in the state so far, where 107 essential medicines and 47 types of tests are being conducted absolutely free of cost. He said that till now more than 55 crore OPD patients have reached these clinics and about 84 thousand people are availing these services every day.
Proposal to make Mohali a semiconductor hub
The Chief Minister demanded declaring Mohali as ‘National Knowledge and Education Centre’. Along with this, he presented an important proposal to establish an ‘Integrated Semiconductor Mega-Cluster’ in Mohali and said that the already existing Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), trained human resources and strong infrastructure can make India a global superpower in the field of semiconductor manufacturing.
The investment of Rs 4,500 crore announced by the Central Government for modernization of SCL should be utilized to make Mohali a leading semiconductor hub of India. He concluded his speech by saying that these demands of Punjab are not limited to the development of the state only, but are directly related to internal security, food security and the country’s dream of ‘Developed India’.
Campaign against drugs also mentioned
The Chief Minister also mentioned the anti-drug campaign being run by the government in the state. He said that under the ‘Anti-Drug War’ campaign, 547 clinics, 183 de-addiction centers and 90 rehabilitation centers are actively working in the state. Through the ‘School Against Drugs’ program, about 8 lakh students are being made aware about the ill effects of drugs.
Referring to the achievements in the field of education, he said that in NITI Aayog’s ‘Education Quality Report – 2026’, Punjab has emerged as the best school education system in the entire country. Various schemes related to 40 ‘Hunar Shiksha Schools’, Business Blasters programme, Mindfulness programme, increase in seats in ITI and skill development of youth are going on in the state.
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