Delhi cabinet approves 22.5k monthly aid plan for women

Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said the Delhi cabinet has approved ₹5,100 crore as the annual budget towards the Mahila Samridhi Yojana aimed at providing ₹2,500 to eligible women in the Capital, paving the way for what she claimed was one of the foremost steps towards ensuring the economic stability of underprivileged women in the city.

- Hemani Bhandari and Snehil Sinha

Speaking at an event organised by Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on the occasion of International Women's Day, Gupta said that a committee has been formed under her leadership with cabinet ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Ashish Sood and Kapil Mishra as its members to implement the scheme.

"The promise of ₹2,500 made to my sisters of Delhi has been given the stamp of approval by the cabinet today. The cabinet has allocated 5,100 crore for Mahila Samridhi Yojana so my poor sisters of Delhi can start getting the benefit. It is a major step towards ensuring economic stability and social upliftment of women, particularly those from poor families," Gupta said.

The scheme was one of the key poll promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Delhi assembly elections held in February, which helped it break a 27-yearold jinx to storm to power with a two-thirds majority. It also marked a crucial shift in the core voter base previously held by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Gupta added that a portal will soon be rolled out for registration and the committee will deliberate on the terms and conditions of the scheme. "All the criteria have been discussed in the cabinet and the committee will finalise them soon so that the registration can start.

The IT department is already working on the portal," Gupta told HT.

The scheme was widely popularised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's poll campaigns in Delhi, particularly because it surpassed the ₹2,100 promised by the AAP.