Overview
- Rekha Gupta handed out roughly 1,000–1,100 bicycles Thursday at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Shalimar Bagh during Durga Ashtami Kanya Pujan.
- The budget for 2026–27 sets aside Rs 90 crore to provide free bicycles to about 1.30 lakh Class IX girls in Delhi government schools to ease travel and cut dropouts.
- Education Minister Ashish Sood said the government will float purchase tenders in April with on-the-ground rollout expected within two to three months.
- Gupta said the official scheme is for Class IX students, while some Class X recipients at the event received bicycles from her personal initiative.
- Reports also flagged allied measures like the Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana and noted Gupta’s attack on Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged ‘Sheesh Mahal,’ with outlets varying in emphasis between welfare details and political sparring.