Delhi govt announces 'Pink Saheli Smart Card' to provide free travel for women and transgender commuters across DTC buses

New Delhi [India], November 2 (ANI): The Delhi government has announced that it would launch the ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’, a special initiative aimed at providing free and convenient travel for women and transgender individuals across Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses.

With this new scheme, daughters, sisters, and mothers above the age of 12 can now enjoy free rides across the capital. 

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta made the announcement on X post. 

दिल्ली सरकार ने महिलाओं और ट्रांसजेंडर्स के लिए ‘पिंक सहेली स्मार्ट कार्ड’ की शुरुआत की है।

अब 12 वर्ष से अधिक आयु की बेटियां, बहनें और माताएं डीटीसी और क्लस्टर बसों में निःशुल्क और सहज यात्रा कर सकेंगी।

यह पहल दिल्ली में महिलाओं के लिए यात्रा को आसान बनाने, सार्वजनिक परिवहन के… pic.twitter.com/CdJQAvCr6O

— Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) November 2, 2025

Earlier, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Friday announced that the Delhi government has taken a historic and significant decision under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to grant recognition to private unaided schools operating in non-conforming areas of the city.

According to a release, it's a long-pending reform that restores the constitutional right to education for thousands of children across the city.

According to this decision, all private unaided schools that have been functioning in non-conforming areas for a long time but have not yet obtained recognition from the Directorate of Education, either due to procedural reasons or due to the discriminatory approach of previous governments, can now apply for recognition from the Directorate of Education, Government of Delhi.

The Directorate of Education's online portal for submission of applications opened on November 1, 2025. All such schools willing to seek recognition may apply till November 30, 2025. After the completion of the application process, the received applications will be scrutinised, and a list of such schools that meet all the prescribed criteria for recognition will be issued thereafter, the release said.

The Education Minister said, "For over a decade, this issue remained buried in files while children were denied their constitutional right to education. Previous governments played favouritism, recognising a few while neglecting many. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, we have ended this selective discrimination. This is not just administrative reform, it is justice for our children, fairness for our institutions and a genuine step towards democratising education in Delhi." (ANI)