The Paani Bachao, Paisa Kamao (PBPK), which translates to "Save Water, Earn Money," is a flagship state-level scheme of the Government of Punjab aimed at promoting water conservation and energy efficiency in the agricultural sector. The scheme was launched as a pilot project in June 2018 in collaboration with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the World Bank's Water Resources Department. It was created to solve the critical problem of rapid groundwater depletion in Punjab, where over 80% of groundwater blocks are classified as "overexploited" due to excessive extraction for irrigation, largely driven by the traditional system of free electricity for tube wells.
The scheme works by replacing the conventional free power subsidy with a performance-based incentive model. Farmers who voluntarily enroll are allocated a fixed electricity quota based on their land size and crop type. The core mechanism is to provide financial incentives for every unit of electricity saved below this allocated quota. Since agricultural groundwater extraction is primarily done using electric tube wells, saving electricity acts as an indirect but effective proxy for saving water. For instance, a farmer who saves electricity receives a direct benefit transfer of approximately ₹4 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the unused units, which is paid into their bank account. This mechanism connects the state's power subsidy reform with environmental sustainability, shifting the burden of the subsidy from the government to the farmer as a direct cash incentive for conservation. The scheme is a transformative step in agricultural policy, replacing a conventional subsidy with a conservation-linked incentive.