Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday (March 25, 2025) presented ₹1 lakh crore FY26 Budget with ten focus areas, including Yamuna cleaning, economic empowerment of women, infrastructure, water, and connectivity, asserting that it is a roadmap for making the national capital self-reliant.
In her 138-minute speech, Ms. Gupta, who also holds the Finance portfolio, called the maiden Budget of the BJP-led Delhi government “historic”, emphasising that the era of “corruption and inefficiency” was over.
This is the first Budget presented by a BJP-led government in Delhi in over 26 years, following the party’s victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in last month’s Assembly elections.
Delhi budget highlights
Highlighting the focus on infrastructure development in the city, the Chief Minister announced that the government has doubled capital expenditure to ₹28,000 crore in its 2025-26 Budget.
The total Budget outlay for fiscal year 2025-26 marks a 31.5% increase from the previous year.
To combat pollution in Delhi, ₹300 crore has been set aside by the BJP government.
Taking a dig at the AAP which ruled the city for over 10 years, Chief Minister 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 it has looted it).
Read the highlights from the speech here:
Ms. 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.
A major focus of the Budget is the cleaning and rejuvenation of the Yamuna River, inspired by the Sabarmati river-front project.
The government has allocated ₹500 crore for Yamuna cleaning, ensuring that only treated water enters the river through the decentralization of 40 sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Additionally, ₹500 crore has been earmarked for the repair and upgradation of STPs, and ₹250 crore for replacing old sewer lines.
A major focus has also been placed on clean drinking water and sanitation, with ₹9,000 crore allocated for related projects.
The health sector has been allocated ₹6,874 crore, with a focus on setting up health and wellness centres and expanding the Ayushman Arogya Mandir initiative. The Delhi government has also allocated ₹210 crore for providing nutrient kits and an allowance of ₹21,000 to expecting mothers.
The Delhi government has allocated ₹1,000 crore for improved transport links connecting NCR and a total of ₹12,952 crore for the transport sector.
To curb corruption in the free-bus ride scheme for women, the government will replace pink tickets with cards.
For women’s welfare, ₹5,100 crore has been earmarked to provide ₹2,500 per month to eligible women. Additionally, the government will install 50,000 CCTV cameras across the city to enhance women’s safety.
Ms. Gupta announced that the government aims to make Delhi an investment- and innovation-friendly city. To achieve this, a new industrial policy and a new warehouse policy will be introduced. A Traders’ Welfare Board will also be established.
Furthermore, Delhi will host its first-ever ‘Global Investment Summit’, which will be held every two years. To support small-scale industries, ₹50 crore has been earmarked for skill development programs, including bee-keeping.
In a major cultural initiative, the Delhi government will host an ‘International Film Festival’ with a budget allocation of ₹30 crore.
The government has also allocated ₹696 crore for the development in slum clusters and ₹100 crore has been set aside for opening 100 Atal Canteens across the national capital.
“There is a lot of difference between us and them (AAP). You (AAP) made ‘Sheesh Mahal’ for yourself, we will build houses for the poor. You installed pot toilets worth lakhs, we will make toilets for the people in slum areas,” she said.
On education, Gupta attacked the previous AAP government, accusing it of misleading people about the quality of education. “The AAP government has failed many students in 9th and 11th standard so that their 10th and 12th results appear better,” she alleged.
To reform the education system, the government will set up ‘CM SHRI Schools’, inspired by ‘PM SHRI Schools’ and aligned with the New Education Policy 2020. The FY26 Budget has allocated ₹100 crore for these schools.
Additionally, the Delhi government will provide free laptops to 1,200 students passing class 10th and has allocated Rs 750 crore for this.
Ms. Gupta also announced a new education hub in the Narela area. The government has allocated Rs 100 crore for a pilot project to remove overhead electrical lines and shift high-tension power lines.
The environment and forest department will receive ₹506 crore.
In a key infrastructural move, the Delhi government has set aside ₹6,897 crore for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. A new jail will also be set up on the city’s outskirts to shift Tihar Jail.
For animal welfare, the government will set up modern cow shelters in Delhi’s Ghummanhera area with an allocation of ₹40 crore.
“This is not just a Budget but a vision for the future of Delhi. We have set some objectives in this Budget-now Delhi will be the city of trust, not void promises,” Ms. Gupta said.
Published – March 25, 2025 03:47 pm IST
