Gender Budget Statement 2024-25:1% of GDP for Women’s Programs

Analysing the Gender Budget of 2024-25 - Gokulam Seek IAS Academy

Context

The Gender Budget reached 1% of GDP estimates in 2024-25 for the first time.

About

  • Women-led development remains at the core of announcements made by the Finance Minister (FM) on this year’s Budget. 
  • Overall allocations presently stand at more than ₹3 lakh crore for pro-women programmes.
  • There has been a remarkable 218.8 percentage rise in the budget allocation for women’s welfare from FY14 to FY25.

What is Gender Budgeting?

  • Gender budgeting is a method that consists of gender concerns in the budgeting system. 
  • It was first added in 2005-06.
  • It includes analysing and allocating budget resources in a way that addresses the particular desires and priorities of women and women and promotes gender-sensitive guidelines and programs.

Gender Budget 2023-24

  • The previous Gender Budgets constantly pronounced an average share of 5% of the full budgetary allocations. 
  • This yr the proportion of allocations to seasoned-women schemes stands at about 6.8% of the total budget expenditure for 2024-25, which is way above the same old traits.
  • The Gender Budget is split into 3 elements.
  • While Part A covers schemes with 100% provision for women, Part B includes schemes with 30-99% allocations for women. 
  • For the first time ever, Part C consists of schemes with allocations of as much as 30% for women.

Significance

  • The Economic Survey highlights the significance of women-led development, starting with the health and training of the girl child.
  • Key signs show progress in this place, with the national sex ratio at birth (SRB) enhancing from 918 to 930, and the maternal mortality rate lowering from 130 to 97 per lakh live births.
    • Women’s participation in ability development has expanded. 
  • Under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), it grew from 42.7 per cent in FY16 to 52.3 per cent in FY24. 
  • The Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme has 82 percent women beneficiaries. 
  • Women’s involvement in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) rose from 9.8 in line with cent in FY16 to thirteen.Three percent in FY24.
  • In the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), it went up from 7.7 percent in FY17 to 20.8 percent in FY24.

Government initiatives

  • Mission Shakti is a women empowerment programme released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) for the period 2021-2025.
  • It targets to bolster interventions for women’s welfare, protection, and empowerment, making women equal partners in nation-building.
  • Initiatives like Beti Bachao, Beti PadhaoSukanya Samriddhi YojanaJanani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, and PM Matru Vandana Yojana have also contributed to significant upgrades in the welfare and empowerment of women and women. 
  • The Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programmes recognition on enhancing women’s fitness beyond just calorie consumption and enhancing normal health and immunity with proper micronutrients.
  • The Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE KIRAN) software has supported almost 1,962 women scientists from 2018 to 2023.

Conclusion

  • Incorporating explanations for allocations in GBS might not only ensure accounting accuracy but also assist in gender audits and offer pathways for improved gender outcomes in government programmes. 
  • Several years of advocating for stepped forward reporting inside the GBS through specialists is mediated inside the inclusion of a 3rd part.
  • Gender responsive budgeting is an effective system to close the gender gaps in an economy.

Source: The Hindu

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