Gender Budgeting

Gender Budgeting

Context:

The commitment to women empowerment was reflected in Budget allocations to pro-women programmes, as reported by the Gender Budget Statement (GBS). 

• The GB reached 1% of GDP estimates in 2024-25 for the first time, and overall allocations currently stand at more than ₹3 lakh crore for pro-women programmes.

About Gender Based Budgeting:

• Gender Budgeting is not an accounting exercise but an ongoing process to ensure that the benefits of development reach women as much as men. 
• Gender Budgeting is a tool for gender mainstreaming that uses the budget as an entry point to apply a gender lens to the entire policy process.
  • Gender Budgeting is not a separate budget and is not about spending the same amount on women and men. Additionally, it is not solely about addressing programmes specifically targeted at women and girls, and it is not confined to budgets alone.
  •  In essence, Gender Budgeting involves analysing various economic policies of the government from a gender perspective.
  • India’s gender budgeting, introduced in 2005-06, aims to assess the budget’s impact on women and girls.
  •  The Gender Budget Statement is divided into two parts:
    • Part A: Covers 100% women-specific schemes.
    • Part B: Includes pro-women schemes where at least 30% of the allocation benefits women.
    • Part C schemes with less than 30% provisioning for women. 
      • The PM Kisan scheme in the agriculture sector has been reported in part C with an outlay of ₹15,000 crore.

Significance of Gender Budgeting:

• Sustainable Development:
  • Alignment with SDGs: Gender budgeting aligns with SDG 5, focusing on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
  • Impact on Health and Education: Initiatives funded through gender budgeting, such as maternal health and girls’ education, contribute to sustainable development by improving economic productivity and health outcomes.
• Economic Growth:
  • Boosting GDP: According to the new report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) titled ‘The Power of Parity’, bridging the gender gap will have a huge economic impact and the boost could translate into 1.4 per cent per year incremental GDP growth for India.
• Empowerment:
  • Institutional Mechanisms: Establishing Gender Budgeting Cells (GBCs) in ministries institutionalised gender budgeting, prioritising women’s needs in public expenditure.
  • Capacity Building: The Ministry of Women and Child Development empowers officials through capacity-building initiatives, ensuring effective implementation of gender-responsive policies.
    • Mission Shakti includes training programs for officials and stakeholders to ensure they are equipped to implement gender-sensitive policies effectively. 
    • It also promotes women’s collectives, such as Nari Adalats, to facilitate alternative dispute resolution and ensure gender justice.

• Social Justice:
  • Addressing Inequalities: It addresses systemic inequalities by analysing budget impacts on different genders, helping to rectify inequities.
    • According to the World Economic Forum women have only 77% of the legal rights of men and also earn less, necessitating policy and industry focus on financial literacy.
  • Promoting Accountability:It promotes transparency and accountability in government spending, ensuring commitments to gender equality are met.
    • For instance, the Ministry of Women and Child Development tracks the effectiveness of schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative.

Government steps for Gender Budgeting:

• 43 Ministries/Departments/UTs have reported a total of Rs. 3.09 lakh crore in the Gender Budget Statement  2024-25 (Budget Estimates), as compared to Rs. 2.23 lakh crore in 2023-24.
• Steady Share of Gender Budget with a Notable Increase in 2024-25:
  • The GBS, since it was first introduced in 2005-06, consistently reported an average share of 5% of the total budgetary allocations, with marginal ups and downs. 
  • This year is special as the share of allocations to pro-women schemes stands at approximately 6.8% of the total budget expenditure for 2024-25.
• Gender Budgeting Cells (GBC): The government requires all Ministries and Departments to establish GBCs as an institutional mechanism for implementing Gender Budgeting. 
• Role of the Ministry of Women and Child Development: The Ministry supports the institutionalisation of Gender Budgeting at the State/UT level and provides financial assistance for capacity building of government officials to enhance Gender Budgeting practices.
  • So far, 27 States/UTs have adopted Gender Budgeting and have taken various steps to address gender gaps and advance gender equality. 

Challenges in Gender Budgeting:

• Skewed Allocation: The Gender Budget is divided into two parts. Part A, which allocates 100% of funds for women, has consistently had a lower share. The highest allocation for Part A was 46% in FY 2021-22.
• Gaps in Implementation:
  • According to a NITI Aayog paper (June 2022), only 62 out of 119 centrally-sponsored schemes implement Gender Budgeting. 
• Underreporting and Overreporting:
  • The gender budget overlooks major schemes benefiting women, such as the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), which isn’t reflected in the gender budget despite its significant impact on women’s quality of life. 
  • Case of underreporting has been observed in MNREGA,for example, despite women constituting 59.3% of person-days, had only 33.6% of its total outlay reported, under Part B. 
  • In contrast, gender-neutral schemes like PMAY-G are placed in Part A.
  • Over-reporting in the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) is seen in cases like the PM Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), where 40% of the allocation was reported without explanation.

Way Forward:

• Improving Gender Budgeting: Need for Rationale and Transparency
  • Incorporating explanations for allocations in the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) would enhance accounting accuracy, support gender audits, and improve gender outcomes in government programmes. 
  • While recent efforts, including the introduction of a third part in the GBS, show progress, a scientific and systematic approach is still lacking. 
• NITI Aayog’s Recommendation for a Gender Budgeting Act
  • NITI Aayog has suggested enacting a Gender Budgeting Act to mainstream gender-based budgeting across all Ministries and States/UTs.
  •  The Act would also require data-collecting institutions to analyse and publish gender-disaggregated statistics, making the Gender Budgeting process more scientific.
• IMF’s Recommendations for Gender-Focused Fiscal Policies: The IMF recommends that fiscal policies focus on addressing persistent gender gaps by conducting Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs) to evaluate the gender implications of both current and alternative policies.