The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi on Saturday presented a Rs 75,800 crore budget for the city for the financial year 2022-’23. The Budget focused on creating 20 lakh jobs in the national capital in the next five years, PTI reported.

“The Rozgar Budget will take the economy of Delhi on the path of progress and generate lakhs of employment opportunities,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, while presenting the Budget.

The total allocations made in the Budget is 9.86% more than previous year’s Rs 69,000 crore, Sisodia said.

The per capita income of Delhi is 2.7% higher than the national average, Sisodia noted, The New Indian Express reported. “In the last seven years, the government has provided employment in schools, colleges, universities and government departments,” he added.

He also said that the economy of Delhi was slowly recovering from the impact of Covid-19.

“Due to this, the Gross State Domestic Product of Delhi at the current market prices is likely to increase from Rs 7,85,342 crore in 2020-’21 to Rs 9,23,967 crore in 2021-’22,” Sisodia was quoted as saying.

Delhi’s working population to increase: Sisodia

Delhi’s working population, the deputy chief minister said, will increase from the current 33% to 45% in the next five years, PTI reported.

An artificial intelligence-based website and a mobile application called Rozgar Bazaar 2.0 will provide at least one lakh jobs every year to the young citizens of Delhi, especially women, Sisodia announced in his Budget speech.

In a bid to create more job opportunities in the national capital, Sisodia said that the government has plans to set up a 90-acre manufacturing centre to attract investments from electronic firms.

“The redevelopment of the non-conforming industrial areas will be done to create six lakh new jobs,” he was quoted as saying, The New Indian Express reported.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led government will also organise shopping festivals to give a boost to retail and wholesale markets in Delhi, PTI reported. For this, an amount of Rs 250 crore has been allocated.

“In the next one or two years, state governments will learn from this [Budget] on how both government and private sectors can provide opportunities for people,” Sisodia said, PTI reported.

To avoid discrepancies, the government will also carry out an employment audit of the Budget allocations.

Key highlights

  • The Delhi government has allocated Rs 750 crore to revive over 600 lakes and water bodies of the national capital, News18 reported.      
  • A provision of Rs 9,769 crore has been made for the health sector as well, which includes construction of new hospitals and remodelling of existing ones.      
  • For the education sector, Rs 16,278 budget is allocated.      
  • A new boarding school will be set up for the underprivileged homeless children. A budget of Rs 10 crore has been proposed for this.      
  • Allocation of Rs 50 crore to implement a new startup policy in Delhi.      
  • Introduction of the Delhi Film Policy to promote Delhi as both a national and international brand, The Hindu reported.