Delhi Finance Minister Atishi presented the ‘Ram Rajya’ budget amounting to ₹ 76,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25 today, March 4.
The Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly commenced on February 15 and has been extended till March 8. The budget is the longest assembly session under the AAP government’s regime in Delhi.
Kejriwal’s statement after announcing Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojna
Reacting to the development, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “…Today a big announcement has been made for the women of Delhi. This will be the world’s biggest program to empower women. Now they will not have to depend on anyone for money. Every woman above 18 years of age will be given Rs 1,000 every month.”
The move seems to be inspired by the resounding success of “Laadli Behna” scheme which is one of the key factors in bringing BJP to power in MP elections last year.
In her budget speech, she underscored the fact that GSDP of Delhi has increased to 11.08 Lakh Crores in 2023-24 from 4.95 Lakh Crores in 2014-15 and the per capita income in Delhi has increased from 2.47 Lakh in 2014-15 to 4.62 Lakh in 2023-24 which is 2.5 times higher than the national average.
Delhi Budget’s major agendas
The Delhi government continued its focus on education, health, power, and roads among others in the budget. It allocated ₹16,396 crore in the budget for education sector and ₹8,685 crore for health sector.
The highlight of the budget was government announcing to give ₹ 1,000 per month to every woman aged 18 years and above under Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna. Overall the scheme amounts to ₹ 2000 crore.
In 2023, the then Finance Minister Kailash Gehlot presented Delhi’s annual budget following the arrest of former finance minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case.
Budget based on the Theme of Capital City
The 2023 budget was based on the “Clean, beautiful, and modern” Delhi theme. The 2023 Delhi budget amounted to ₹ 78,800 crore with a provision of ₹ 21,000 crore for the city’s infrastructure.
During her Delhi government budget speech, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi announced Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, under which every woman above 18 years of age will be given Rs 1,000 monetary assistance every month.
“A new revolutionary scheme is being brought. The name of this scheme is ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana’. Under this scheme, every woman above 18 years of age will be given Rs 1,000 every month,” Atishi said during her speech on Monday.
Know who is eligible for the scheme and how one can get the benefit of it?
In her Delhi budget speech, Atishi said that not all Delhi women are eligible for the Rs 1000 monthly aid programme. Only those women can apply for the scheme, who are-
- Not receiving pension or aid under any scheme from the Delhi government.
- Are not government employees
- Are not tax paying women
- Don’t have a Delhi voter ID
Atishi said that eligible women for the scheme can get financial assistance from the next financial year onwards.
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