– By Prof (Dr) Sangita Dutta Gupta and Dr Adviti D
The finance minister has announced the budget. The emphasis has been on women led development. India is moving from the development of women to women led development. This article seeks to build a fresh narrative on the priority that Gender Budgeting deserves amid several schemes rolled out by both Central and State Governments and how budget 2024 is another step in the right direction. Achieving gender equity is one of the cornerstones of development governance. The concept of Women in Development evolved in the 1970s, followed by Gender in Development in the 1980s. Women95 Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by the United Nations after the Fourth World Conference on Women, identified twelve key areas where urgent actions were needed to ensure greater equality between men and women. Integrating gender perspectives in policy formulation has become extremely important in closing the gap between men and women. Despite the various measures undertaken, the scenario still needs improvement.
As per the latest IMF report (2023), women remain underrepresented in all vital leadership positions. They constitute only 5% of the CEOs in commercial banks worldwide. As per The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report (2023), it will take 131 years to close the gender gap. The gap is even wider in the case of political and economic empowerment. It will take 162 years and 169 years, respectively, to close the two gaps. Of the seventeen sustainable development goals, SDG 5 discusses achieving gender equality and empowering women by eliminating gender gaps. Societal hindrances in many developing countries have prevented women from getting education and employment that could have supported their development. Forty-nine countries in the world do not have specific laws that can protect women from domestic violence. There is no specific law to address sexual harassment cases in 42 countries. 50% of working-age women participate in the labor force compared to 80% of men (IMF Report, 2023). So, it is essential that action-oriented policies need to be adopted to abolish any form of discrimination. The right policy will allow women to be part of the development process and earn their rightful status in society.
Several initiatives have been adopted by the government of India for gender inclusivity in policy formulation. The gender budget for FY 25 stands at the highest of 6.5 % of the total expenditure. The gender budget has an allocation of Rs. 3.10 Lakh crore. The allocation in 2014 was 97.134 crore. Thus, there has been a steady increase in allocation for gender budget.
This is the highest allocation since its introduction in FY06. Government is also trying to ensure participation of women in the workforce by setting up working girls’ hostels and providing creche facilities.
The initiatives taken by the Gender Budgeting cells of the various Ministries and Departments target women, youth, and other vulnerable sections of society and are all-encompassing. Women-centric healthcare measures such as access to free institutional delivery (Janani Suraksha Yojana), provision of free drugs, diet, diagnostic services, etc to women (Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram) are pivotal for women’s healthcare. Provision of and assistance with employment and livelihood opportunities to women from marginalized communities in terms of training, credit provision, access to technology-enabled services, and marketing support have also been implemented through various schemes (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA); Indira Awas Yojana, Mahila Kisan Shashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP); Establishment of Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centers; Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture; Sanchar Shakti; Women Self-Help Group Development Fund and others). Access to and aid in pursuing higher education are the focus of schemes such as UDAAN, Swami Vivekanand Single Girl Child Scholarship, DISHA, and others. Women’s safety is also being prioritized through initiatives under the Scheme for Women’s Safety on Public Roads, which include setting up national and state-level GPS tracking, emergency buttons, and video recording of incidents in the public transport system.
The recently introduced Samagra Shiksha, targeting schooling for girls, and Pradhan Mantri Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN), the former mid-day meal scheme, have been crucial, in addition to the traditional schemes. Some new innovative initiatives are the Namo Drone Didi scheme, which trains women members of self-help groups to operate drones that will provide irrigation and crop quality management services, and the provision of Mahila barracks with separate toilets. Some notable
schemes at the State level are the Jaganna Vasathi Deevana and YSR Kapu Nestham Andhra Pradesh, which target the economically weaker sections of the state. Suggestions to recognize the LGBTQ+ community and implementation of schemes specific to them have been made by specialists. The policy initiatives have also started yielding results. The number of women participants increased from 42.7 per cent in FY16 to 52.3 Per cent in FY 24. Participation of women in ITIs and National Skill Training Institutes increased from 9.8 per cent in FY 16 to 13.3 per cent in FY24.
Despite the commendable efforts, India’s position regarding gender parity remains a concern, ranking 127 among 146 countries. While it has improved by eight places compared to last year, there is still a significant gap to bridge. In Southern Asia, India is 6th, trailing behind Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Maldives (WEF report, 2023). This underscores the urgency of the issue. Gender equity is not just a matter of social justice, but also a crucial factor for inclusive development
in a country like ours. It’s heartening to see many states taking proactive steps in this direction. However, it’s imperative that they ensure the government’s initiatives are implemented effectively and all schemes are aligned well, leading to improved gender-specific indexes. The emphasis of budget 2024 on women led development is a step in that direction.
(Prof (Dr) Sangita Dutta Gupta is the Professor –Economics at BML Munjal University; and Dr Adviti D is Assistant Professor – Economics at SRM University, AP.)
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