The budget session of the Punjab assembly will be held from March 1 to 15.

The go-ahead for the session was given at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh on Thursday.

State finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema will present the budget proposals for 2024-25 on March 5.

Expressing solidarity with the family of Shubhkaran Singh, the 21-year-old farm protester who died on Wednesday, Cheema said AAP MLAs and leaders would be holding camps at the state’s borders with Haryana where farmers are protesting.

The cabinet approved ₹1 crore for the family of home guard volunteer Jaspal Singh, who died in a clash between the Punjab Police and Nihang Sikhs over the control of Gurdwara Akal Bunga in Kapurthala’s Sultanpur Lodhi on November 23, 2023.

To promote small industrial units, the cabinet gave its approval to create a new micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) wing. All small enterprises will get aid from this wing. “Punjab has the highest number of MSMEs, and they stand to benefit from this decision,” Cheema said.

The cabinet approved the increase in the honorarium (jangi jagir) given to widows of war heroes from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 annually.

The transfer policy for teachers has also been amended. The age limit to fill 612 posts of college lecturers has been relaxed to 45 years.