Punjab Government, in a significant welfare-oriented move, has enhanced the interest-free wheat loan for Class-IV (Group-D) employees to Rs 9,700 for the financial year 2025-26. Announcing the hike, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the initiative reflected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government’s steadfast commitment to safeguarding the interests of its lowest-paid employees.
Cheema underscored that this step is not a standalone measure but part of a sustained drive to uplift those who have long been neglected. “Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, we are walking the talk when it comes to welfare for the working class,” he said. Notably, this marked a cumulative increase of 21.25 percent in the wheat loan amount over the last three financial years.
The interest-free loan, intended to help Class-IV employees procure wheat at the government-fixed rate of Rs 2,425 per quintal, will cover the cost of four quintals of wheat per family, ensuring food security for thousands of government employees. The Rs 9,700 loan amount will be disbursed by May 29, 2025, with repayment in eight equal monthly installments, starting from the June 2025 salary (payable in July). This structure ensured that the entire loan is recovered within the same fiscal year, without imposing any additional financial burden.
Calling the scheme a “backbone support” for the administration’s Class-IV workforce, Cheema said that this segment often struggles with rising household costs and inflationary pressures. “These employees may not be in the limelight, but their contribution to the functioning of government offices and public service delivery is invaluable. This loan is our way of respecting that contribution,” he added.
Drawing a sharp comparison with the previous Congress-led government, Cheema criticized its “apathy” towards this workforce. He said that during the fiscally and socially difficult pandemic years of 2019-20 and 2020-21, the Congress regime kept the loan amount unchanged at a paltry Rs 7,500. A meagre increase of Rs 500 in 2021-22, just ahead of elections, was “too little, too late”.
In contrast, the AAP Government has shown “a clear pattern of compassion and accountability”, asserted Cheema, adding, “This is governance that translates into real benefits — not just symbolic gestures.” This interest-free loan amount was incrementally raised to Rs 8500 for fiscal year 2023-24, then to Rs 9100 for fiscal year 2024-25, and now to Rs 9700 for fiscal year 2025-26 under the AAP Government, he added.