Facing pressure to balance welfare promises with fiscal discipline, the state government will raise a fresh loan of Rs 1,500 crore on July 1. The move comes ahead of the rollout of its flagship welfare scheme Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana.This will be the second major market borrowing in June, following a Rs 1,000-crore loan earlier in the month. Punjab has already borrowed Rs 5,300 crore in the first two months of the current financial year 2026-27 (Rs 2,800 crore in April and Rs 2,500 crore in May). Factoring in the July loan, the state’s total debt in the first quarter will rise to Rs 7,800 crore.Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring criticised the Aam Aadmi Party government for the fresh borrowing. He warned that the move would push Punjab towards bankruptcy. “It is a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I am sure AAP will leave a bankrupt Punjab for its successor government,” he said.