Prez Murmu to unveil Pink Card, LPG and Lakhpati Bitiya schemes

New Delhi: In a major push towards women-centric welfare and digital public services, the Rekha Gupta government is set to roll out a series of flagship schemes at a grand event titled ‘Sashakt Nari, Samriddh Delhi’ at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on March 2, with President Droupadi Murmu set to formally launch the initiatives.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), branded as the ‘Pink Card’ for women, will usher in a new era of integrated and free bus travel for women in the capital. “The card will provide free travel to women residents of Delhi on DTC buses. It will also enable seamless paid access to the Metro, RRTS and other public transport services through a single smart card,” she said.

The scheme, inspired by the Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Card’ vision, will introduce three categories, Pink for eligible women residents, Blue for general commuters and Orange for monthly pass users.

In the first phase, Pink and Blue Cards will be issued. Gupta said, “This initiative marks an important step towards making public transport more accessible, safe and digital.”

Around 50 centres, including DM and SDM offices and selected DTC centres, will facilitate issuance. The Pink Card will be free of cost, linked to Aadhaar and mobile numbers, and will replace the existing pink paper tickets with a touch-free digital system.

At the same event, the President will also launch a scheme to provide two free LPG cylinders annually to ration card-holding families on Holi and Diwali.

Gupta said the benefit would be extended through Direct Benefit Transfer, with the amount credited to the Aadhaar-linked bank account of the head of the family. The scheme is expected to cover around 15.5 lakh families.

Another key highlight will be the launch of the ‘Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana’, an expanded version of the Ladli Scheme.

“A total of Rs.56,000 will now be deposited in stages in the name of the girl child, and with accrued interest, the maturity value is expected to exceed Rs.1 lakh by the age of 21,” Gupta said, adding that the objective is to ensure higher education becomes the norm for girls.

She described the scheme as “a guarantee of daughters’ confidence” and said it reflects the government’s commitment to economic empowerment.

Additionally, Rs.100.25 crore will be disbursed to over 40,000 Ladli beneficiaries under the initiative ‘Meri Punji, Mera Adhikar’ through DBT, marking what the government calls a milestone in transparent and inclusive welfare delivery.