Punjab Floods: Center Announces Assistance; Economic Impact Touches Five-Digit Crores

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a financial assistance of ₹ 1,600 crores for flood-ravaged Punjab.

He also announced an ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh to the kin of deceased and ₹ 50,000 for those seriously injured.

According to a release from the Press Information Bureau, the central government's assistance announced by the Prime Minister was in "addition to ₹ 12,000 crores in the state's kitty."

With 14 of her 23 districts hit by floods, the state of Punjab is dealing with one of the most devastating floods in 37 years (since 1988).

1018 villages were reportedly affected while 6 lakh acres of agricultural land was reported as submerged.

The untimely floods have resulted in the death of 51, nearly 4 lakh individuals affected, and an estimated loss of ₹ 13,000 crores.

The Punjab government was reported of having announced a ₹ 20,000 compensation per acre for farmers. The state cabinet also announced a scheme to allow farmers to sell sand extracted from their respective fields.

Impact to Economy & Sectors hurt by Flood

While impact to agriculture is estimated at the highest given extensive crop-area being submerged. The damage is likely to also affect or disrupt the following sectors:

Wheat

Basmati Rice

Sugar plantation

Dairy

Food Processing industries

Livestock

Sporting Goods

Textiles

Engineering Goods

Pharmaceutical Goods

Previous Financial Assistance Programs by the Government

According to data sourced from the Press Information Bureau's website, here is a list of states and the financial assistance packages provided by the central government in recent years:

Punjab: 2025 Floods; ₹ 1600 crores.

Karnataka: 2022 Floods; ₹ 1623.30 crores.

Maharashtra: 2022 Floods; ₹ 1056.59 crores.

Jammu Kashmir: 2015 Floods; ₹ 5039 crores.

Assam: 2018 Floods; ₹ 2,000 crores.

Tamil Nadu: 2024 Floods; ₹ 944.80 crores.