“It is a difficult target but definitely not impossible,” says Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi, when quizzed on whether his aim to raise the per capita income of Delhi residents to that of Singapore by 2047 was bit too ambitious.

In an e-mail interaction with BusinessLine Sisodia, who had presented his seventh consecutive Budget on Tuesday, shared his thoughtprocess behind some of the Budget proposals and announcements. Excerpts:

Your Budget aims to raise the per capita income of Delhi to the level of a Singapore citizen by 2047. How do you plan to do this?

We want to augment Delhi’s growth and ensure that the per capita income is at par with Singapore’s by 2047. I think this will be possible if we are able to increase the income of our citizens by 16 times. It is a difficult target, but definitely not impossible.

Education, healthcare and social development have always been the pre-dominant sectors that our government has focused on. The measures and milestones we continue to achieve in these sectors are exhibits of our vision for Delhi. We are confident of an increase in the per capita income of the common man in Delhi to be at par with Singapore.

If I have to draw parallels with Singapore, Delhi has only seen a hike in the per capita income. In 1993-94, the per capita income of Delhi was at ₹18,166 (at constant prices) which increased to ₹2,74,671 in 2019-20 – the second highest in the country. By FY 2020-21, the per capita income of Delhi further increased to ₹2,54,001 at constant prices. It was about 2.95 times higher than the national average of ₹85,929 in FY 2020-21. These numbers encourage us to strive for higher per capita income in the coming years and strengthen our vision of being at par with Singapore.

Whether it is improving education, providing the best healthcare facilities, water, electricity or even investing in large-scale development projects and innovations, we are working on all. Most importantly, our goal is to create an educated population, which – we have seen from global examples – leads to significantly increased productivity and economic growth.

What prompted you to benchmark the per capita income of Delhi with Singapore and not with say the US or any of the European Countries?

Singapore has one of the most stable economies in the world, with high government revenue and a consistently positive surplus. As a result of its strategic geographical positioning in Asia, the socio-economic context of Singapore is relatable to that of India. In addition to this, Singapore is also a city state which has achieved substantial growth in the past 25 years.

So, when we think of Delhi 25 years from now, we envision a Delhi which can stand at par with one of the fastest growing and developed economies in the world.

Your ‘Deshbhakti’ Budget has focussed a lot on education and health outlays. Why the added emphasis on these two sectors?

Our agenda for Delhi has always included growth in education and health. These sectors have always been our prime focus. The trend of dedicating 1/4th of our Budget to education and 14 per cent to healthcare in the last 6 years has continued this year as well. Our aim, through this Deshbhakti Budget, is to spread the message that Deshbhakti means equality. Equality that also means access to quality education and healthcare. In education, we have introduced the ‘Deshbhakti Pathyakram’, a curriculum that will instil the spirit of patriotism and nationhood within every child studying in the government schools by teaching one period daily on Deshbhakti. Teaching this curriculum will spark patriotism in such a way that our students who graduate from schools will question themselves if they skip a traffic light. They will treat women with respect and act upon grave matters such as conserving our environment.

You had made a Budget announcement of providing a health card to every resident of Delhi. What is the timeline by when this facility will get rolled out?

In the 75th year of Independence, the Delhi government is headed towards another important beginning in the health sector, i.e. a health card will be issued to every citizen of Delhi. Along with this, an online Health Information Management System (HIMS) will be set up in Delhi. In this, a database containing details of diseases, treatment, test reports, medicines etc of the citizens of Delhi will be made available. Every citizen of Delhi will be given a health card that s/he has to take to the hospital for his/her treatment. There is no need to take old records, tests, medicine details etc. along with. All these information will already be available online with the doctor in the database. The patient only takes the issued card and goes to the doctor. In the first phase, all government hospitals, poly-clinics, mohalla clinics, etc. of Delhi will be connected to this online health information management system. The use of modern technology in the health information management system will significantly improve the health care system. This will help in identifying and tracking patients with geo tagging. With the introduction of this system, it will also help to know the genetic diseases of the families of the patients, and provide better medical facilities on the basis of it. The work is going on and it will be done soon.

In your budget, you had made a provision of ₹1,293 crore as capital outlay in health sector? Why are you not exploring Public-Private Partnerships for such capital projects as you could then do more with the same quantum of funds?

This budget provision has been earmarked for strengthening the health infrastructure, which is well within the overall resources available for financing various schemes, programmes and projects. The government may explore the participation of private sector in the capex programme if there is further need.

There was a mention of Delhi aspiring to bid for hosting the Olympics by 2048? What kind of infrastructure transformation of the city is being planned to make it Olympics ready?

We have the vision of hosting the Olympic Games in Delhi and have initiated steps to achieve it. As a first step, the Delhi government has decided to establish a Sports University which will train athletes and create a pool of talented and competent sports professionals who can represent the country and win medals at an international level. We aim to spend the next 15 years to build adequate infrastructure and create an atmosphere where sports flourishes.

Your Budget talks about encouraging start-ups and the fact that the government is framing a new Startup policy. By when do you see the start-up policy getting finalised and rolled out?

The work on the start-up policy is on and we are confident to launch it as soon as possible. Delhi has become a start-up hub over the past few years and is renowned as a ‘business-friendly city’. The Government is committed to promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship among people who wish to start their own business ventures. The Government has prepared a draft start-up policy and is in the process of finalising it. Work on the Start-up policy of Delhi has begun and we plan to roll it out soon.

You spoke about the government decision to decrease the circle rate by 20 per cent. When does this move actually come into effect?

The Delhi Cabinet has already given the nod on the matter. To deal with the economic slowdown due to the lockdown, following Covid-19 pandemic and to facilitate the real estate market, the Government has decided to decrease circle rates by 20 per cent for 6 months. We hope that this measure of the government for decreasing circle rates will create new employment opportunities for the poor and marginalised sections. Today’s decision of the Delhi Cabinet will help begin the long term recovery in the real estate sector.

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