Delhi to host India's biggest shopping festival in 2023, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal (Image: ANI)

Delhi government will host a 30-day 'Delhi Shopping Festival' in the national capital next year, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on July 6. The festival, biggest in India, will be organised from January 28 and February 26, the chief minister said in what he called a "big and an important" announcement for the people of Delhi.

"This will be the biggest shopping festival in India. We are starting it now. I expect that in a few years, we will make it the biggest shopping festival in the world,"  Kejriwal said in a video address.

READ | 'Biggest proof of honesty', says Arvind Kejriwal after CAG report shows revenue surplus during AAP regime

The festival will be held in iconic markets of Delhi to promote business growth, create jobs and to make these markets more popular and it will gelp give a major boost to Delhi's economy, Kejriwal said.

“It will be a huge opportunity for Delhi's businessmen, an opportunity for them to increase their business. It will be a huge opportunity to present Delhi on an international level. It will generate thousands of jobs,” he said adding that Delhi will look like a bride and all markets will be decorated.

दिल्ली में रोज़गार, व्यापार और अर्थव्यवस्था को लेकर बड़ी ख़ुशख़बरी। साल 2023 की शुरुआत में दिल्ली करेगी मेज़बानी एक विश्वस्तरीय “Delhi Shopping Festival” की | Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/VRi6MwFkaS

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— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 6, 2022

There will be heavy discounts on all products from clothes, foods to household items during the festival. “Separate programs for entertainment of elders, children, youngsters, will be organised. About 200 different types of programs and events will be organised,” the CM said.

Earlier in the day, citing a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report which said the Delhi government was running in profit, Kejriwal said the numbers were the “biggest proof of its honesty”. Aam Aadmi Party's honesty, Kejriwal said, had deprived the opponents of their sleep.

The CAG report tabled in the Assembly on July 5 said the Delhi government has had a revenue surplus from 2015-16 to 2019-20, according to a report in Times of India newspaper which Kejriwal shared along with his tweet.

The report, however, mentioned that the Delhi government was able to maintain the revenue surplus largely because the pension liabilities of its employees were being borne by the central government and the Delhi Police's expenditure was borne by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

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"This is the CAG report. It says the Delhi government is running in profit since AAP came to power. This is the biggest proof of honesty of AAP. This honesty has deprived our opponents of their sleep," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

The revenue surplus of Delhi government in 2019-20 was Rs 7,499 crore, indicating that its revenue receipts were sufficient to meet the revenue expenditure, the report said

In the budget 2022-23 presented by Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on March 26, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of the national capital for 2021-22 was estimated to be Rs 9,23,967 crore which is an increase of 17.65 per cent over 2020-21 (Rs 7,85,342).

ये CAG की रिपोर्ट है। इन्होंने कहा है कि दिल्ली में जबसे आम आदमी पार्टी की सरकार बनी है, तबसे दिल्ली सरकार फ़ायदे में चल रही है। ये आम आदमी पार्टी सरकार की ईमानदारी का सबसे बड़ा सबूत है। इसी ईमानदारी ने हमारे विरोधियों की नींद उड़ा रखी है https://t.co/NZboAME992

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 6, 2022

The fiscal deficit for 2022-23 is targeted at Rs 9,194 crore, the budget said.  In 2021-22, as per the revised estimates, fiscal deficit was expected to be 1.58 per cent (Rs 14,562 crore) of GSDP.