Salaries, pensions, interest payments and power subsidies account for 98% of Punjab’s revenue receipts, constraining the fiscal space for development expenditure on areas such as education and infrastructure, according to a report released on Thursday by PANJ Foundation, a Chandigarh-based policy think-tank.
At the release event, economist Lakhwinder Singh also cited a crucial finding from the report, stating that graduate unemployment rose from 13.1% to 16.9% between 2017-18 and 2023-24, while India’s fell from 17.2% to 13% during the same period. On Punjab’s economy and finances, the report examines the state’s growth trajectory, fiscal position, revenues, expenditure, debt and other indicators of public finances. The report also examines employment, including the changing nature of employment opportunities and the broader labour-market challenges confronting Punjab.
Economist Upinder Sawhney, highlighting one of the report’s key findings, said almost everything that Punjab earned was spent even before a rupee reached a school or infrastructure.
