Economic Survey tabled in House

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has covered 72.48 lakh beneficiaries under the National Food Security (NFS) Act, with 19.40 lakh NFS smart cards being issued to eligible families under the initiative till March 31, 2017.

According to the Economic Survey (2017-18) tabled in the Assembly on Monday, the AAP government facilitated supply of foodgrain to around 72.48 lakh poor people through a network of 2,254 fair price shops at subsidised rates.

“So far, 19.40 lakh NFS smart cards have been issued to eligible families of the capital as on March 31 last,” it said.

The survey said foodgrain was distributed to around 15.15 lakh card holders through e-Point of Sale (POS) devices.    

According to the survey, the total investment in the education sector has increased by more than double in the budget, from rs 5,491 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 11,300 crore in 2017-18.

“This is the highest priority sector for the government, which got the biggest share of allocation — 23.54 per cent of the total budget in 2017-18,” the survey stated.

Also, the per capita income of Delhi was almost three times of national average, both at current and constant prices, the survey said. The Delhi government pegged the size of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at Rs 6.86 lakh crore for 2017-18, reflecting a growth rate of 11.22 per cent over the last financial year.

“The advance estimate of the GSDP of Delhi at current prices during 2017-18 is likely to attain a level of Rs 6,86,017 crore at a growth rate of 11.22 per cent over the previous fiscal.”

The advance estimate of the Net State Domestic Product of Delhi at current prices is likely to attain a level of Rs 6,26,002 crore in 2017-18, estimated to grow at 11.51 per cent over 2016-17, the survey stated.