Delhi Budget 2025: Hiked stipends for poor, aid for homeless | Latest News Delhi
Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday proposed a number of social welfare initiatives in Delhi, including an increase in financial assistance to senior citizens, crèche facilities for the children of economically weaker women who work, rehabilitation of the homeless, and revamping cow shelters, as she presented a ₹1 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2025-26.
The social welfare and development sector has been allocated ₹10,047 crore in this year’s budget — more than 10% of the total budget allocation for the fiscal, and a comprehensive increase over last year’s outlay of ₹6,694 crore.
“It is the commitment of the Delhi government that no one sleeps hungry, no one remains helpless, and every person gets the right to live a life with dignity. Our Capital should not only become a symbol of modern infrastructure and economic development, but the benefits of this development should reach all sections of the society equally,” Gupta, who also holds the finance portfolio, said in her over two-hour long speech.
The CM said a majority of the ₹10,047 crore outlay — ₹9,780 crore — has been allocated for schemes and projects of the social welfare, women and child development, and SC/ST welfare departments.
The schemes will benefit more than 950,000 beneficiaries, including 402,000 senior citizens, 418,000 widows and women in distress, and 130,000 lakh persons with disabilities, she said.
Gupta said the monthly assistance provided to senior citizens (60-69 years) is being increased from ₹2,000to ₹2,500, and those from SC/ST/minority communities will get an additional monthly assistance of ₹500. Senior citizens above the age of 70 years will get ₹3,000, compared to ₹2,500 earlier.
In addition, financial assistance to women in distress and people with disabilities is being increased from ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 per month. A budget of ₹3,227 crore has been allocated for these schemes, Gupta said.
The CM said her government has allocated ₹5,100 crore to provide monthly assistance of ₹2,500 to eligible women to enhance their economic independence, as part of the “Mahila Samridhi Yojana” — a pre-poll promise that the BJP had announced in the run-up to the Delhi elections.
In addition, she said, ₹210 crore has been set aside for the Mukhyamantri Matru Vandana Yojana (MMMVY), under which financial assistance of up to ₹21,000 and six nutrition kits will be provided to 100,000 beneficiaries.
“To recognise and honour women’s unpaid domestic labour, we have decided to launch the “Mahila Samridhi Yojana”. A budget of ₹5,100 crore has been allocated under this scheme, which will provide monthly assistance of ₹2,500 to eligible women,” she said.
The government has also proposed the allocation of ₹50 crore under the Palna – National Creche Scheme, in which 500 anganwadies-cum-crèche will be set up to enable economically weaker mothers to remain part of the workforce after the birth of their children.
NGOs estimate that Delhi has around 300,000 people who are homeless. For their rehabilitation, Gupta announced an allocation of ₹5 crore. “Not only shelter will be provided, but vocational training and skill building programmes will also be run, so that they can earn their own livelihood,” she said.
In addition, the CM announced that the government will launch the Dr BR Ambedkar Stipend Scheme, under which SC students pursuing technical and vocational education at Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), skill centres, and polytechnics will be given a monthly stipend of ₹1,000.
Emphasising the remodelling of cow shelters, Gupta said a budget of ₹40 crore has been allocated to set up a “model gaushala” in Ghuman Hera village, southwest Delhi.
Gupta also set aside ₹1,000 crore for the overall development of rural and urban villages of Delhi. The amount, she said, will be used for the development of roads, drainage, streetlights, community buildings and other basic facilities.
However, she did not divulge any details of the development plans.
.
