Punjab has raised a demand for central assistance to strengthen its police infrastructure and security efforts in border districts, with a grant of Rs 1,000 crore. Industrial incentives similar to those provided to Jammu & Kashmir and neighboring hill states were also sought to support MSMEs in Punjab's border and sub-mountainous regions, during the pre-budget meeting held at Jaisalmer with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

In a statement, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the state has raised the demand to restore NABARD’s Short-Term Seasonal Agricultural Operations (ST-SAO) limit to ₹3,041 crore, from the reduced limit of ₹1,100 crore for FY 2024-25. He said that this restoration is vital to prevent farmers from turning to moneylenders, aligning with the “Sahakar se Samriddhi” principle. He said that several states raised this issue and it was discussed at length.

For road connectivity under PM Gati Shakti in Rajpura, the Government of Punjab has requested ₹100 crore to construct a 5.6 km, 45m wide approach road connecting NH 44 to the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) in Rajpura. This funding is essential for the timely completion of road construction and the successful implementation of the industrial cluster.

Expressing gratitude for the Vande Bharat train connecting Amritsar with New Delhi, the Punjab government requested another Vande Bharat train to connect Bathinda, Punjab's agricultural and commercial hub, with the national capital. This would ensure seamless connectivity for the Malwa region of Punjab.

 Cheema also proposed financial support to address crop residue management in Punjab. He said despite providing 1.45 lakh Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines since 2018, high operational costs remain a challenge. The Punjab Government has proposed an incentive of ₹2,500 per acre, with ₹2,000 per acre from the Government of India and ₹500 per acre from the state. The total cost of this initiative is estimated at ₹2,000 crore, with the Government of India requested to provide ₹1,600 crore as budgetary support.

 The Finance Minister requested a special budget allocation for paddy diversification. Diversifying paddy cultivation across 10 lakh hectares could result in substantial savings of over ₹30,000 crore. The government has proposed allocating a portion of these savings towards a comprehensive diversification package.

The state also called for reimbursement of procurement costs by the Government of India, modernization of driving license testing with advanced technology, and reimbursement of pending Rural Development Fee (RDF) amounting to ₹6,857 crore.