Delhi budget theme this year is patriotism, to mark 75 years of Independence | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Delhi budget theme this year is patriotism, to mark 75 years of Independence

By, New Delhi
Mar 06, 2021 05:46 AM IST

This will be the first budget in Delhi after the Covid-19 pandemic – which, according to government estimates, have caused a 42% revenue loss.

The theme of the upcoming Delhi government budget will be “patriotism”, and the government is likely to set aside funds for a series of events to be held across the city over a span of 75 weeks – starting next week – to celebrate 75 years of Independence in August next year, said a senior government official on Friday.

The budget session in the Delhi Assembly starts on Monday.(Sonu Mehta/HT photo)
The budget session in the Delhi Assembly starts on Monday.(Sonu Mehta/HT photo)

The budget session in the Delhi Assembly starts on Monday. HT has learnt that the economic survey and outcome budget 2020-21 is likely be tabled on Monday, while the 2021-22 state budget — the seventh by the AAP in its three terms in power — will be tabled on Tuesday.

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“The events will start on March 12 with a programme at the Central Park in Connaught Place. Events will continue for 75 weeks until 15 August 2022 – when India would celebrate 75 years of Independence. The themes of these events will revolve around the role of Delhi in the Independence movement; how Delhi has evolved since 1947; and the government’s vision for ”Delhi in 2047”. Appropriate allocations will be made in the upcoming budget for these events,” said the senior official, who did not wish to be identified.

In its first budget after coming to power in 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had chosen (self-governance) as the theme of the 2015-16 budget. In that budget, the government allocated large sums to welfare schemes such as subsidies on power and water bills. Similarly, the 2018-19 budget was branded a “green budget” because of the large number of allocations towards fighting against air pollution in the capital.

“This year’s themes will be patriotism,” said the official quoted above.

Another government official said that the total budgeted outlay for 2021-22 is likely to be more than previous year’s 65,000 crore -- which was the highest so far.

This will be the first budget in Delhi after the Covid-19 pandemic – which, according to government estimates, have caused a 42% revenue loss. For 2020-21, a year marked by three rounds of severe spike in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, the government had pegged revenue receipts at 55,309 crore.

“In the upcoming budget, allocations for both health and education sectors will increase,” said the second government official, who did not wish to be identified.

Last year (2020-21), the government allocated 15,815 crore for education — an increase of 1.3% from the 2019-20 budget -- and 7,704 crore for the health sector, which was nearly 3% more than the previous fiscal.

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