With Delhi slated to go to polls on February five, the Union Budget announced on Saturday did not announce any schemes related to Delhi thereby abiding with the Election Commission of India's directive not to announce any Delhi-specific schemes or sops.
However, the budgetary provisions could give Delhi electorate some reasons to feel happy about. Apart from the tax exemption for the middle class, which will benefit Delhiites like all Indian citizens, many Central schemes may indirectly benefit city voters like slum dwellers and residents of unauthorised colonies that need an infrastructure boost.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several schemes for street vendors, gig workers, middle-class people who are paying EMIs for flats in stressed housing projects and the urban poor whose settlements need better infrastructure and governance.
PM SVANidhi scheme, which has benefitted more than 68 lakh street vendors by giving them respite from high-interest informal sector loans, will continue to benefit Delhi vendors, most of whom are from Purvanchal and live in slums or unauthorised colonies in the city.
According to Sitharaman, a revamped version of the scheme - PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) - would offer enhanced loans from banks, UPI-linked credit cards and capacity-building support. For middle-class Delhiites, who are paying EMIs in housing projects that have run into trouble, the Budget announced a new fund to expedite the completion of stressed projects. Sitharaman said in her speech, "Under the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH), 50,000 dwelling units in stressed housing projects have been completed, and keys handed over to home-buyers.
Another 40,000 units will be completed in 2025, further helping middle-class families who were paying EMIs on loans taken for apartments, while also paying rent for their current dwellings."
