Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gender Budget;
Mains level: Issues related to Gender Budget;
Why in the News?
Women-led development is central in this year’s Budget, with Gender Budget allocations reaching 1% of GDP and over ₹3 lakh crore for pro-women programs.
About Gender Budgeting in India:
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Different Components of the Gender Budget Statement
The Gender Budget Statement (GBS) is structured into three main parts:
- Part A: This section includes schemes and programs that have 100% allocation specifically for women.
- Part B: This part covers schemes with more than 30% but less than 100% of their allocations directed towards women.
- Part C: Introduced recently, this section reports pro-women schemes that have less than 30% provisioning for women.
Instances of Missing Allocations Reported by Experts:
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): Initially, only a portion of PMAY’s budget was reported under Part B, which led to an underrepresentation of its impact on women. The entire allocation of ₹80,670 crore for 2024-25 was later moved to Part A, raising concerns about the accuracy of reporting since not all beneficiaries are women.
- PM Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): The GBS reported an allocation of ₹920 crore, which was claimed to be 40% of the total allocation to PMEGP, without a clear rationale for this percentage.
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): Although women constituted 59.3% of all person-days under MGNREGS, only 33.6% of its total outlay was reflected in the GBS, indicating a significant underreporting of women’s engagement and benefits from the scheme.
How should these anomalies be rectified by the Government (Way forward):
- Incorporate Explanations: Providing clear explanations for the allocations reported in the GBS would enhance transparency and accountability.
- Audit of Budgetary Allocation: The government should involve regular audits and assessments of how budgetary allocations impact gender equality.
- Engage Stakeholders: Involving experts and stakeholders in the process of developing the GBS can provide insights into the specific needs of women and help ensure that the budget effectively addresses those needs.
Mains PYQ:
Q Women empowerment in India needs gender budgeting. What are requirements and status of gender budgeting in the Indian context? (2016)
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