Chandigarh, March 11 -- Eminent economists have stressed the need for transparency in economic policy and greater public investment in education and healthcare to ensure long-term growth in Punjab. The views were expressed during a "The Punjab Plan: Policy and Governance Summit" held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh. Deliberating on the topic "Sustaining Punjab's state finances and human capital" at the event, Prof Lakhwinder Singh, professor at the Thapar School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Patiala, noted that Punjab has made inadequate investments in health and education, weakening its long-term development prospects. Prof Singh also drew attention to deep-rooted social issues, including the continued preference for sons over daughters. He further noted that many women do not exercise their legal rights to property, restricting their economic independence. He added that Punjab is also lagging in innovation and technological advancement and stressed that stronger public investment in education and healthcare, along with sound fiscal policies, is essential for sustainable development. Prof Upinder Sawhney, former head of the economics department at Panjab University, highlighted that Punjab has remained a revenue-deficit state since 1984-85. She attributed the situation to an imbalance between the state's responsibilities and the resources available to it. Sawhney also pointed to an institutional shift in central grants from untied funds to tied grants that come with specific conditions, limiting the state's financial flexibility. Expressing concern over the lack of transparency in off-budget borrowing, she said such practices raise debts outside the official budget framework. Given Punjab's sensitive international border with Pakistan, Sawhney argued that the central government should consider providing special grants to the state. She also recommended plugging loopholes in the tax collection system and improving transparency and accountability in governance....