Delhi govt presents Rs 1 lakh cr Budget; infra edu, health and women’s welfare in focus

New Delhi: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented her maiden Budget on Tuesday, outlining an ambitious Rs 1 lakh crore plan for the Financial Year 2025-26. The Budget, which represents a 31.5 per cent increase from the previous year, focuses on infrastructure, healthcare, education, employment generation, and social welfare.

The Chief Minister emphasized that the Budget aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a “Viksit Delhi” and aims to address the basic needs of citizens while boosting economic growth.

Shifting of Tihar Jail to a new location, education hub in Narela, two new medical colleges, setting up of a modern cow shelter, pilot project for eliminating overhead electric wires, free laptops for 1,200 students passing Class X, welfare boards for gig workers and auto-taxi drivers, new industrial policy and global investment summit are among the key initiatives announced in the Budget.

The Delhi government has launched several schemes to empower women, focusing on financial aid, safety, and support services.

The Mahila Samridhi Yojana (MSY), with Rs 5,100 crore allocated, provides a Rs 2,500 monthly honorarium to recognize unpaid domestic labor. The Mukhyamantri Matru Vandana Yojana (MMMVY) offers Rs 21,000 financial aid and six nutrition kits to one lakh expecting mothers, with a Rs 210 crore budget.

For safety, 50,000 new CCTV cameras will be installed, and ‘dark spots’, areas lacking lighting and police presence, will be addressed. Pink PCR units will be introduced, and women police recruitment will increase. The monthly pension for women in distress rises from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000, with a Rs 3,227 crore allocation.

A digital travel card will replace pink tickets for free bus rides to prevent corruption. Rs 12,952 crore is allocated for transport improvements. One-stop centres (Rs 11 crore budget) will provide legal and distress support.

Two new Sakhi Niwas hostels will be built for working women and students, adding to the existing 14 hostels supporting 1,935 women. These initiatives aim to enhance women’s security, financial independence, and overall empowerment in Delhi.

The healthcare sector has been allocated Rs 12,893 crore, with Rs 320 crore set aside for establishing health and wellness centres and expanding Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. To address gaps in medical infrastructure, Rs 1,000 crore will be used to upgrade 24 hospitals that were previously left unfinished or lacked basic facilities.

The government also plans to set up 400 new Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi with an enhanced insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh per beneficiary. The focus remains on improving hospital management, ensuring adequate medical staffing, and providing better healthcare services to citizens.

Delhi’s transport system will see an infusion of Rs 12,952 crore, with plans to add 500 new electric buses to the existing fleet of 2,152 e-buses. In a move to enhance convenience and prevent fare-related fraud, a unified travel card for women will be introduced, allowing seamless travel across public transport services.

The government has also earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for improving connectivity between Delhi and NCR, with central government support. Infrastructure projects, including roads and bridges, will receive Rs 3,843 crore to address the city’s growing traffic and transportation demands.

One of the major priorities of the Budget is to provide clean drinking water and improve sanitation across the city. The government has allocated Rs 9,000 crore to enhance water supply systems, restore water bodies, and promote rainwater harvesting.

Rs 50 crore will be used for the restoration of water bodies, while another Rs 50 crore has been set aside for rainwater harvesting projects. An additional Rs 150 crore has been allocated for emergency water storage. To ensure proper sewage management, Rs 500 crore will be invested in setting up 40 decentralized sewage treatment plants. The Chief Minister also announced a request for Rs 2,000 crore in financial assistance from the central government to modernize Delhi’s water and sewage infrastructure.

The Delhi government has allocated Rs 19,291 crore for education, with a special focus on developing new institutions and upgrading existing ones. Rs 100 crore has been set aside for the establishment of CM Shri Schools, modeled after the PM Shri Schools, to align with the National Education Policy. Additionally, Rs 100 crore has been allocated to set up smart classrooms in government schools.

An education hub will be developed in Narela with an allocation of Rs 500 crore, and Rs 618 crore has been earmarked for expanding the city’s education infrastructure. The government also announced the setting up of 175 new computer labs, free laptops for 1,200 students transitioning from Class 10 to 11, and language labs in 100 schools dedicated to former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

To support youth and entrepreneurship, the Delhi government has allocated Rs 806 crore for startup initiatives and skill development programs. A fellowship program for young professionals will receive Rs 2 crore. Additionally, Rs 25 crore has been set aside for branding and promoting Delhi as a global business hub. The government also announced a Rs 5 crore talent hunt scheme to identify and support promising individuals across various fields.

For the city’s homeless population, Rs 5 crore has been allocated for skill-building workshops. Additionally, Rs 696 crore has been dedicated to improving slum clusters, ensuring better living conditions and infrastructure development in underprivileged areas. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been allocated Rs 6,897 crore to enhance civic infrastructure and urban governance. Although this is a decrease from last year’s allocation of Rs 8,000 crore, the government assured that all pending grants would be disbursed.

The Delhi government has allocated Rs 42 crore for the development of modern gaushalas. Rs 2 crore will be used to renovate existing facilities, while Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for a new model gaushala in Guman Khera village. The government also promised to clear all pending grants to gaushalas.

To ensure food security for low-income groups, the government announced the establishment of 100 Atal Canteens across Delhi, with a Budget of Rs 100 crore. These canteens will provide affordable meals to the public, modeled after similar initiatives in other states. The government plans to introduce a new industrial policy, streamline the business environment with a single-window system, and establish a Traders’ Welfare Board. To attract global investment, a biennial Global Investment Summit will be launched in Delhi. Delhi will soon host an international film festival, with Rs 30 crore allocated for the event. Additionally, Rs 139 crore has been earmarked for the promotion of arts and culture, including increasing the Budget for the Maithili and Bhojpuri Academy to Rs 6 crore.

Despite the increased expenditure, the Delhi government remains confident in its fiscal management. The Budget will be funded primarily through Rs 68,700 crore in tax revenue, Rs 750 crore in non-tax revenue, and Rs 15,000 crore from small savings loans. Additionally, Rs 4,128 crore will come from centrally sponsored schemes, while Rs 7,348 crore will be provided as grants-in-aid from the Government of India.

Presenting the budget, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta assured that her government is committed to addressing Delhi’s pressing issues while ensuring long-term development. With significant investments in education, healthcare, transport, and social welfare, the Budget reflects an effort to create a more inclusive and developed national capital.

Gupta said that the Budget is the first step to develop the national capital. “Delhi went down in every aspect of development in the past decade. The previous government ruined the economic health of the national capital like termites,” she said.

She attacked the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP that ruled Delhi for 10 years for allegedly neglecting basic amenities in slum clusters of the city while building a “Sheesh Mahal”. The chief minister also took a jibe at the opposition AAP MLAs in the Assembly, by saying in a lighter vein that the “Sheesh Mahal” will be included in the tourist circuit of Delhi for people to visit it. Taking a dig at the AAP, Gupta recited lines of renowned poet Bashir Badr, “Dil ki basti puraani dilli hai, jo bhi guzra hai, usne lootaa hai” (The locality of my heart is old Delhi, whoever has passed through, has looted it).

According to budget documents, capital expenditure has been proposed at Rs 28,115.48 crore in 2025-26 against budget estimates of Rs 15,089.25 crore in the last year. The chief minister tabled in the Assembly a budget of Rs 1 lakh crore for 2025-26 which will primarily be funded through tax revenue of Rs 68,700 crore, non-tax revenue, grant-in aids from the Centre and other sources.

The tax revenue will comprise Rs 41,000 crore from GST collection, Rs 8,000 crore from VAT, Rs 9,000 crore from stamp and registration fees, Rs 7,000 crore from state excise and Rs 3,700 crore from taxes on vehicles.