Delhi Budget: Women to get assistance of Rs 1,000 a month

Delhi finance minister Atishi

The Delhi government announced a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to all women above the age of 18 in its budget for the financial year 2024-25 , which was presented by finance minister Atishi in the assembly on March 4, a move that comes ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

The honorarium would be provided under the Mukyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, the minister said while presenting the "Ram Rajya" budget, adding a sum of Rs 2,000 crore had been set aside for the scheme.

Women account for almost 50 percent of the voters in Delhi. The latest data shows out of 1.47 crore voters, 67.3 lakh are females.

In her budget speech, which was replete with references to Lord Ram, Atishi said Rs 8, 685 crore has been set aside for the health sector.

The government would now bear the full expenses of accident victims under its Farishtey Dilli Ke scheme. Until now, the government paid for the initial treatment. The scheme helped saved 22,000 lives, Atishi said.

The minister's budget speech gave an account of  the achievements of the Kejriwal government the nine years it has been power in the national capital.

Delhi will add another 10,000 buses, 80 percent of which will be electric, for public transport by 2025. The government will launch a business blaster scheme in its universities and industrial training institutes with a budgetary allocation of Rs 15 crore.

The budget presented by Atishi for the financial year 2025 in the assembly, featured Rs 76,000 crore outlay, and emphasised the Delhi government’s commitment to the principles of Ram Rajya.

In the preceding financial year 2023-2024, the AAP government had earmarked Rs 78,800 crore, while for 2022-23, the allocation stood at Rs 75,800 crore.

Having assumed responsibility for the finance department in 2023, Atishi presented the budget for the first time.

She proposed an allocation of Rs 16,396 crore for the education sector and highlighted the Aam Aadmi Party government’s accomplishments in the field.

Within the education budget, Rs 100 crore has been set aside for the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to train teachers, along with another Rs 150 crore earmarked for the construction of new schools and classrooms.

Furthermore, Rs 45 crore has been allocated for the maintenance of existing classrooms and Rs 42 crore for Schools of Specialised Excellence in the fiscal year 2024-25.