Ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, the Punjab Government on Saturday launched ‘Punjab Da Crorepati’, a statewide quiz competition on the lines of the popular television show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, to engage Gen Z and first-time voters. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 crore.Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the initiative would test participants’ knowledge of Punjab’s history, culture, art, geography and governance.Launching the competition portal, Mann said participants aged 15 to 30 years would be eligible. Four runners-up will get Rs 10 lakh each and eight other toppers Rs 5 lakh each, while over 10,000 participants will also receive prizes.The programme will have 11 rounds, with the first nine conducted online and the final two held offline for qualifiers.Mann urged parents and teachers in schools and colleges to encourage maximum youth to register online for the programme. The registrations will remain open from November 15-28.The first round will be held on November 21. The top 10 participants from each district will compete in the 10th round on December 9 and the district toppers will qualify for the grand finale on December 17.Mann said a pool of 50,000 questions had been prepared and uploaded on the portal. Most are based on those asked in recruitment examinations for government jobs, including the posts of patwaris, constables, Punjab Civil Services officers and sub-divisional officers. Each question will have four options and participants will have to clear successive levels to move ahead in the competition.“We want books in the hands of our youth. Their success is our true progress. As participants will move up the ladder, the competition will get tough. The questions are similar to those asked in different recruitment examinations in the state. The entire process will be transparent,” Mann said.He said the initiative had three objectives: Enabling students to earn money, enhancing their knowledge and helping them prepare for competitive examinations.An analyst said the initiative gave the Aam Aadmi Party government an opportunity to reach out to young voters through an activity that combined education, entertainment and financial incentives.The BJP-led Union Government also runs similar programmes for youth–a multi-stage quiz Viksit Bharat Challenge for youth aged 15-29 years and single-stage MyGov National Quizes on the MyGov Quiz platform. But the rewards in both these are much less, ranging from Rs 51,000 to Rs 1.50 lakh.