A third of Rs 1 lakh cr Delhi Budget for health & education; Modi’s 4 ‘s’ vision for infra push; cycles for schoolgirls signal gender equity

For women and girl children, two initiatives were announced. First, the development of Mahila Haat, to be called ‘Raani Haat’, aimed at improving the condition of women-led self-help groups and establishing dedicated food and craft markets run by women. Second, the launch of the Driving Upliftment and Rozgar for Women and Transgenders Green Autos (Durga) scheme, under which the government will provide 1,000 e-autorickshaw permits to women and 200 to transgender persons.

She also assured that the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, one of the top poll promises made by the BJP during the run-up to the 2025 Assembly elections, would soon be implemented with an outlay of Rs 5,110 crore.

For girl children, the CM announced a Rs 90 crore budget to provide bicycles to 1.3 lakh Class IX students in Delhi government schools.

“Transportation often poses a significant problem for girls studying in government schools in Delhi, which frequently leads to dropouts. But for the first time, the Delhi government will provide free bicycles. Now, our girls will neither be left stranded nor have to depend on others, because this government is giving them wings – they will have their own means to travel to school,” Gupta said.

She added that education and health would remain the government’s central priorities, with 18% of the Budget allocated to the Education department, the largest share.

Health would receive 12.57% of the share, followed by Transport (12.16%), Urban Development (11%), Social Welfare (10%) and Water (8.68%).

At the centre of Gupta’s announcements on Health was the launch of Anmol (Advanced Newborn Monitoring and Optimal Life Care), a new scheme that will provide 56 diagnostic tests for newborns using a single drop of blood, free of cost, across government as well as private hospitals.

“With just one drop of blood, there will be 56 types of testing of newborns, which will be completely free,” Gupta said. The government has allocated Rs 25 crore for the programme, aimed at early detection of genetic and congenital disorders.

Gupta also announced a series of infrastructure initiatives, saying her government would align its approach with the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She said the administration would adopt what she described as Modi’s “four S” framework — scope, scale, speed and skill — in expanding the Capital’s infrastructure, while seeking closer coordination with the Union government and local civic bodies.

As part of the plan, the CM announced the construction of nine elevated corridors and flyovers aimed at easing traffic congestion across the city. She also said that Delhi’s entire public transport fleet would be electrified by 2029, and allocated Rs 8,374 crore for the same.