Even as the Chandigarh Administration’s recommendation for Rs 1 lakh grant for kin of “physical casualties” in the Armed Forces has received appreciation from the service community, a similar grant announced by the Punjab Chief Minister three years ago is yet to see light of the day.In July 2026, coinciding with the Kargil Day anniversary, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had announced at Amritsar that as a welfare measure, an assistance of Rs 25 lakh will be paid to kin of Armed Forces personnel from Punjab who die in harness due to non-operational reasons.Such cases are termed as physical casualty and include deaths on account of accident, illness or other causes in operational as well as non-operational areas, but not due to participation in military operations. Deaths occurring in military operations such as war, anti-terrorist operations, aid to civil authorities, border guarding etc., are termed as “battle casualties”, for whom the compensation is different.According to sources, the modalities of the assistance scheme, to be funded from Punjab Government resources, had been worked out earlier, but it is still awaiting Cabinet approval for implementation. There are approximately 50-60 physical casualties from Punjab every year.Meanwhile, kin of physical casualties from Punjab are eligible for assistance of Rs 1 lakh from Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. The fund is administered by the Kendriya Sainik Board under the Ministry of Defence and relies on public donations.For kin of battle casualties, the Punjab Government provides an ex gratia grant of Rs 1 crore. Of this, Rs 60 lakh goes to the widow if the soldier was married, and Rs 40 lakh to the parents. This amount had been enhanced from Rs 50 lakh in 2022.Apart from the statutory benefits granted by the Central Government to families of soldiers who die in harness, state governments, in addition, have their own policies to extend benefits to the aggrieved families. This includes financial grants, job reservations and compassionate appointments in government departments.These vary from state to state depending upon the strength of the service community belonging to a particular state, the local martial tradition, public perception and resources of the state government. Punjab is among states granting the maximum benefits to martyrs and ex-servicemen.