Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday launched the state’s new ‘Meri Rasoi Yojna’ from his home district, rolling out free nutritional food kits for nearly 40 lakh poor and economically weaker families. The launch event was held in village Bhalwan, where Mann said the scheme is a direct intervention to help struggling households cope with rising inflation.CM Mann said the AAP government is delivering tangible relief to every household through free electricity, healthcare, women-centric welfare schemes and food security measures. He also asserted that alongside strengthening social welfare, the AAP government is rapidly modernising infrastructure, with underground power cabling work progressing to make Punjab completely “electricity poles-free” in the coming time.“Previous governments limited welfare to wheat and pulses. We have taken a comprehensive step to ensure kitchens of poor and middle-class families remain stocked with all essential cooking items,” he said.The Chief Minister stated, “Under the ‘Meri Rasoi’ scheme, every beneficiary family will receive a specially prepared kitchen kit every three months containing mustard oil, pulses, sugar, salt, turmeric and other essential grocery items.”Emphasising that the scheme was designed keeping in mind the practical needs of ordinary families, especially women managing household responsibilities, CM Mann asserted that a strong and prosperous Punjab can only be built when every household kitchen remains functional and no child sleeps hungry. “Proper nutrition for children is extremely important for their education, health and participation in sports. Our government wants every household to have access to nutritious and essential food items so that children do not suffer due to lack of protein-rich food,” he said.Reiterating the Punjab government’s commitment towards women empowerment, the CM said that registration is underway for the “Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna”, under which eligible women will receive monthly financial assistance. “Women above 18 years of age should come forward and register for these schemes. Those from the general category, will receive Rs 1,000 per month, while women from Scheduled Caste families will receive Rs 1,500 every month,” he stated.He said that these initiatives were aimed at ensuring “dignity, self-confidence and financial support” for women in managing household responsibilities.Criticising unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles created in welfare schemes earlier, CM Mann said the Punjab government has simplified welfare registration procedures by removing cumbersome biometric verification systems that caused inconvenience, especially to women and elderly citizens. “Many women engaged in household work face difficulties in biometric authentication because their fingerprints fade over time. That is why the Punjab government has simplified the process through photograph-based verification,” he said.