Delhi's Finance Minister Atishi presented the state's budget in the Assembly on Monday which she claims is inspired by the ideals of Ram Rajya. Interestingly, in its 10th budget, the AAP announced a slew of welfare projects, including the Mukhyamamantri Mahila Samman Yojana' which resembles Madhya Pradesh's 'ladli behna' scheme.
Here are some key takeaways from the budget.
1) 'Mukhyamamantri Mahila Samman Yojana': Atishi called this a 'revolutionary programme' in which women above 18 years of age will be given Rs 1,000. "For a woman to become eligible under the scheme, she should be a Delhi voter, should not be availing benefits under any other government scheme and should not be an income taxpayer," she said.
2) Business Blasters scheme: The scheme which till now was only in schools will be extended to universities and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). "The Kejriwal government will implement Business Blaster scheme in its universities and Industrial Training Institutes through Rs 15 crore allocation in budget," she added.
3) Focus on education: The finance minister said education has been the priority of the government. She proposed an allocation of Rs 16,396 crore for the education sector and highlighted the achievements of the AAP government in the field. "In 2015 we doubled the education budget. We spend 1/4th of our expenditure on education only. For this year we are making a provision of Rs 16,396 crores for education," Atishi said.
Under the education budget, Rs 100 crore has been allocated to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) for training teachers, and another Rs 150 crore has been proposed for the construction of new schools and classrooms. She proposed Rs 45 crore for the maintenance of existing classrooms and Rs 42 crore for Schools of Specialised Excellence in the 2024-25 fiscal.
4)'GSDP increase': Atishi also claimed that the GSDP of Delhi has increased two-and-a-half times to Rs 11.08 lakh crores. In 2014, the per capita income of Delhi was Rs 2.47 lakhs and today the per capita income of Delhi has reached 4.62 lakhs which is two-and-a-half times more than the national average. Today, I am going to present a budget of Rs 76,000 crores," Atishi added.
5) Ram Rajya reference: Atishi made a reference to Ram Rajya in her maiden budget. "This is a moment of pride that the Kejriwal government is presenting its tenth budget today. I am not just presenting the tenth budget but a picture of changing Delhi. Kejriwal came as a ray of hope. We are all inspired by Ram Rajya. We are working hard towards realising the dream of Ram Rajya," she said.
6) Remembers Sisodia, Jain: In her budget speech, she remembered Manish Sisodia, former education minister, and Satyendar Jain, former health minister, for their roles in shaping the education and health models in the national capital.
7) Healthcare: The government announced a budget of Rs 8,685 crore for the health sector with Rs 6,215 crore being proposed for hospitals to maintain good facilities. "Under the Delhi government, there are 38 hospitals where treatment is provided free of cost to more than 81,000 OPD patients daily and 65,806 IPD patients monthly," she said.
8) Court complexes: The minister announced that in 2024-25, the Delhi government will begin the construction of four court complexes in Rohini, Karkardooma, Shastri Park, and Rouse Avenue. "These will include courtrooms, lawyer chambers, libraries, and modern facilities, totalling 250 new courtrooms. The number of people receiving free legal services through the Delhi State Legal Services Authority was 33,000 in 2016. Last year, this figure increased nearly four-fold, reaching 1.25 lakh," she shared.
