Context:

Women-led development remains at the heart of the announcements made by the Finance Minister in the 2024-25 Budget. This commitment to empowering women is reflected in the allocations to pro-women programmes as reported in the Gender Budget Statement (GBS). Notably, the Gender Budget (GB) has reached 1% of GDP estimates for the first time in 2024-25, with total allocations exceeding ₹3 lakh crore for pro-women programmes.

Understanding the Gender Budget Statement

Gender Budgeting

Gender budgeting is a strategic approach used by governments to ensure that public resources are allocated and utilised in a manner that addresses the specific needs and priorities of different genders. Unlike creating a separate budget solely for women, gender budgeting integrates these considerations into the existing budgetary framework, ensuring that policies and programs are designed to promote gender equality. This approach helps to identify and rectify gender imbalances in resource distribution and service delivery, making it a crucial tool for achieving gender-responsive governance.

India's commitment to gender equality was solidified with its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) serves as the central nodal agency for this process, supported by Gender Budget Cells established in all central ministries and departments. Gender budgeting is also a key component of the Samarthya sub-scheme under Mission Shakti, an MWCD initiative focused on empowering women.

Components of the Gender Budget Statement (GBS)

The Gender Budget Statement is structured into three parts:

• Part A: This section reports expenditures on schemes with 100% allocation for women.
• Part B: This section includes programmes with allocations between 30-99% for women.
• Part C: Introduced recently, this part covers schemes with less than 30% provisioning for women.

Increase in Gender Budget Allocations

Historical Trends and the 2024-25 Increase

Since its inception in 2005-06, the GBS has consistently reported an average share of 5% of total budgetary allocations, with only minor fluctuations. The 2024-25 Budget marks a significant departure from this trend, with the share of allocations to pro-women schemes rising to approximately 6.8% of the total budget expenditure.

Factors Driving the Increase

• Introduction of Part C in GBS: The new Part C, includes pro-women schemes with less than 30% provisioning for women. For instance, the PM Kisan scheme in the agriculture sector has been included in Part C, with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore, representing 25% of the total programme budget.
• Increase in Part A Allocations: Part A, which covers schemes with 100% allocation for women, has seen a significant increase. Previously, Part A accounted for 15-17% of overall GBS allocations. However, since Budget Estimates (BE) 2023-24, the share of Part A has surged to almost 40%. This increase is largely due to the inclusion of the entire allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) under Part A, despite not all beneficiaries being women.

Issues of Over-reporting and Under-reporting

Instances of Over-reporting

The Gender Budget Statement (GBS) reported an allocation of ₹920 crore for the PM Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), representing 40% of the total programme allocation, but did not provide a clear rationale for this distribution. Additionally, the entire allocation of ₹80,670 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in 2024-25 has been categorised under Part A of the GBS. This classification is problematic as it assumes that all beneficiaries of PMAY are women, which is not the case, leading to questionable reporting.

Under-reporting Deflates Spending on Women's Needs

For the first time, the entire allocation for the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) has been reflected in Part A of the Gender Budget Statement (GBS), suggesting that 100% of its funds are dedicated to women and girls, whereas previously only 50% was reported in Part B. Conversely, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is currently reported under Part B with an allocation of ₹28,888.67 crore, representing only 33.6% of the total budget. This figure is incongruent with the fact that women made up 59.3% of all person-days under MGNREGS as of December 2023, indicating that the reported share should be higher. Additionally, the GBS has overlooked pro-women allocations for schemes aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs, such as PM Vishwakarma, SVANidhi, and Stand-Up India.

Moving Forward

• Addressing Anomalies in the Gender Budget Statement : To rectify the anomalies in the Gender Budget Statement, the government should incorporate detailed explanations for the entries made in the GBS. This would not only ensure accounting accuracy but also facilitate gender audits, leading to improved gender outcomes in government programmes. While the inclusion of Part C is a positive step, the GBS still lacks a scientific and systematic approach to reporting.
• Reducing Misreporting and Enhancing Quality: Efforts to improve the quality of the GBS are evident, but much remains to be done. Detailed reporting should not be seen as merely increasing the quantum of allocations reported for women’s development. Instead, it should ensure that actual spending on women in government programmes is well-planned and designed to meet women's needs from the outset. Gender-responsive budgeting is a powerful tool to close gender gaps in the economy.
• Integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting Across Ministries:To maximize the impact of gender-responsive budgeting, it must be integrated into all Ministries through comprehensive gender analysis, strategic planning, and clear goal-setting. This approach should extend beyond sectors focused solely on women’s development to include areas with inherent gender aspects or indirect effects on women’s well-being. By embedding gender considerations in fiscal policies, India can harness its demographic dividend to achieve sustainable development and gender equality.

Conclusion

The Gender Budget of 2024-25 marks a significant milestone in the journey towards women-led development. However, to truly empower women and achieve gender equity, the government must ensure that the Gender Budget Statement is accurate, transparent, and reflective of the actual needs of women across all sectors. Achieving true women’s empowerment requires a holistic approach that goes beyond economic measures. It involves ensuring access to quality healthcare, legal protections, social participation, and economic opportunities. This comprehensive strategy should focus on overcoming societal and systemic barriers that hinder women and girls from continuing their education, remaining in the workforce, accessing reproductive and mental health services, and participating equally in the labor market with fair compensation and working conditions.

Source: The Hindu