Impact of the Union Budget on Women Development

With the Union budget for the 2017-18 fiscal to be presented on 1^st February 2017, Finance minister Arun Jaitley will be closely watched as he unveils the budget for a country where the financial situation is pretty critical.

Looking past the obvious points of discussion in demonetization and the grouping of the railway budget and the union budget, there is one topic which the current government cannot disregard, which is the budget allocation for gender equality.

India is ranked 87^th in the Global Gender Gap Index compiled by Geneva based World Economic Forum. While there has been a small jump of 21 places from the previous year, the current situation in India is nowhere near ideal.

Last year’s agenda of the union budget ‘Transform India’ is still completely applicable even though it may have been overshadowed by some of the current events. Focusing on women development is one of the major objectives of the above stated initiative.

Since 2005, the Indian government has gone for gender responsive budgeting. One such budget that works towards gender equality is the Gender Budget Statement. This Statement indicates, in two parts, the budget provisions for schemes that are substantially meant for the benefit of women. Part A details schemes in which 100% provision is for women, Part B reflects schemes where the allocations for women constitute at least 30% of the provision.

One of the foremost changes in the current budget has to be an increase in funding for the National Mission for Empowerment of Women. National Mission for Empowerment of Women is a committee of governors set up to study and recommends strategies for speedy socio-economic empowerment of women.

Picture Courtesy:Google

 Focusing on women employment and the efforts made by the government towards this issue, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is an important issue which has seen an increase in funding over the last year (From 233.50 crores to 400 crores) but still needs more focus from the budget committee.

Women education has to be an important part of budget planning concerning women development. Government has taken quite a few initiatives in the past regarding women education. One such initiative is Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (SABLA).

   

The allocated budget for SABLA has dropped from 475 crores in 2015 to 460 crores. This drop in such schemes has been a trend over the last few union budgets of India.

There are some steps that can be taken for a sustainable process of gender budgeting. One such step is to strengthen the institutional mechanisms of such gender oriented schemes.

Focusing on proper budget allocation of schemes that are oriented or designed for women education and development is another point that has to be considered.

Looking over at the current budget layout, creation of a separate column which only focuses on gender development is a considerate suggestion.

The Union budget plays a colossal part in the development of women empowerment schemes and policies being formulated by our country. Correct and fair allocation of the budget is one of the first and foremost steps towards achieving gender equality in our nation. 

Comtent Writer: Saksham Diwan

Designed By: Garima Verma