Delhi Finance Minister Atishi presents 10th budget of the Kejriwal government at Delhi Vidhan Sabha

NEW DELHI: Delhi Finance Minister Atishi presented the 10th budget of the Kejriwal government at the Delhi Vidhan Sabha on Monday.

"Today I am not only presenting the 10th budget of the Kejriwal government but I will also present the changing picture of Delhi in the last ten years..." Delhi FM Atishi said.

"...In 2014, the GSDP of Delhi was Rs 4.95 lakh crores and in the last ten years, the GSDP of Delhi has increased two and a half times to Rs 11.08 lakh crores. In 2014, the per capita income of Delhi was Rs 2.47 lakhs and today the per capita income of Delhi has reached 4.62 lakhs which is two and a half times more than the national average...Today, I am going to present a budget of Rs 76,000 crores..." Atishi added.

Delhi Finance Minister said that Education has been the priority of our government, adding 16,396 crores outlay for education.

"...Not a single penny is going to be received as share in central taxes in this budget of Rs 76,000 crore...Till now it was that the child of a rich family would be rich and the child of a poor family would be poor but this was completely contrary to the concept of 'Ram Rajya'. Kejriwal government has changed it...Today the children of labourers are going to become managing directors. 2,121 children studying in Kejriwal government schools have passed the JEE and NEET examinations. Education has been the priority of our government. In 2015 we doubled the education budget. We spend 1/4th of our expenditure on education only...For this year we are making a provision of Rs 16,396 crores for education..." said Delhi Minister Atishi.

Earlier, the Delhi Finance Minister Atishi took blessings from former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's mother before presenting the budget.

Earlier on March 1, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi tabled the state's Economic Survey in the Delhi Assembly.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi in 2022-23 was recorded at Rs 10,14,000 crore.

"GSDP of Delhi at current prices during 2023-24 is likely to reach Rs 11,07,746 crore at a growth of 9.1 per cent over 2022-23. The GSDP of Delhi in 2022-23 was 10,14,000 crore. In post-COVID times, our real GSDP grew at 8.76 per cent in 2021-22 and 7.85 per cent in 2022-23, faster than the rest of the country. Delhi's population constitutes 1.5 per cent of India's population, while GSDP contributes nearly 3.9 per cent to India's GDP." the economic survey read.

The Per Capita Income of Delhi was Rs 3,76,217 in 2021-22 which increased to Rs 4,61,910 in 2023-24. This is an increase of 22 per cent in 2 years. Delhi's per capita income is 2.5 times of national per capita income.

Delhi's tax collection had registered a growth of 18 per cent during 2022-23. In 2021-22, Delhi recorded a revenue surplus of 3,270 crores; which increased to 14,457 Crores in 2022-23.

"The ratio of interest payments to revenue receipts declined to 5.21 per cent in 2022-23 from the high ratio of 11.20 per cent in 2012-13. Free Government Facilities and ServicesDelhi gives free electricity, water, health, education, bus rides for women, and teeth yatras for the elderly - and still has a growing economy with a revenue surplus," the economic survey noted further.