A significant portion of the Delhi government's financial outlay is directed towards public welfare subsidies, a recent official analysis has revealed. According to a report from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, approximately 35 percent of the state's budgetary expenditure is allocated to concessions including electricity and water subsidies, and free travel for women on buses.
Key Financial Trends and Projections
The comprehensive report, which examined budget data across three fiscal years, provides a clear picture of the government's fiscal priorities. It aims to assess capital formation and savings by reclassifying expenditures. The findings indicate a robust growth in revenue receipts, which are estimated to jump from Rs 56,797.79 crore in the 2023-24 accounts to Rs 81,545.83 crore in the 2025-26 budget estimates.
This represents a substantial increase of 43.57 percent over the three-year period. Specifically, the growth from the 2024-25 revised estimates to the 2025-26 budget estimates stands at 29.40 percent. On the expenditure front, the total disbursement was Rs 65,823.87 crore in 2023-24, with outlays of Rs 69,500 crore and a massive Rs 1,00,000 crore projected for 2024-25 and 2025-26, respectively.
Breakdown of Major Expenditure Components
Delving deeper into the 2023-24 expenditure of Rs 65,823.87 crore, the report highlights that a staggering 95 percent was directed towards current transfers. The single largest component within this was subsidies, accounting for 35.80 percent of the total spend. Other significant areas of expenditure included:
- Compensation of employees: 23.99%
- New construction: 9.46%
- Purchase of goods and services: 8.08%
- Repayment of loan to the central government: 7.59%
- Advances: 5.53%
The report notes that these items continue to constitute the major share of spending in the subsequent years analyzed.
Where Do the Subsidy Funds Go?
The gross expenditure on current transfers, which includes the subsidy component, has seen a steady rise. It was Rs 23,563.22 crore in 2023-24, Rs 25,896.13 crore in 2024-25 (RE), and is projected to be Rs 34,519.86 crore in 2025-26 (BE). Current transfers encompass grants to aided schools, scholarships, welfare programs for weaker sections, and funds for local and autonomous bodies.
The subsidy expenditure itself is channeled into several high-visibility public schemes. The major beneficiaries include:
- Concessional passes issued by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).
- Compensation for meeting the deficit of public transport buses and DTC's operational deficit.
- Subsidies for female commuters traveling on buses.
- Incentives for electric vehicle adoption.
- Subsidies on sugar for consumers.
- Power subsidies paid to consumers through distribution companies (discoms).
- Consumer sops on water through the Delhi Jal Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council.
This detailed allocation underscores the Delhi government's focused spending on social welfare and public utility subsidies, which form the cornerstone of its budgetary strategy.
