Budget carries allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women girls

    New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) For promoting women-led development, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the budget carries an allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.
    Presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said this signals the government's commitment in enhancing women's role in economic development.
    "For promoting women-led development, the budget carries an allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls," she said.
    Sitharaman said the government will set up working women hostels to promote their participation in the workforce.
    One of the key highlights of the budget include establishment of working women hostels in partnership with industries and creches to support working mothers.
    These initiatives are aimed at enhancing work-home balance for women, thus encouraging their greater participation in the workforce.
    Additionally, the budget outlines the launch of women-specific skilling programmes designed to boost female workforce participation, which has increased to 24 per cent in Q2FY24.
    The budget showed that the recent payroll data shows a notable rise in female workforce participation.     
    As of May 2024, around 0.24 million new female members were added, marking a 12.1 per cent increase from the previous year.
    The net addition of female members also rose by 17.2 per cent compared to the previous year, indicating a positive shift towards a more inclusive workforce.
     The Ministry of Women and Child Development has seen a marginal increase of 2.5 per cent in its budget allocation for the fiscal year 2024-25.
    The total budget for the ministry stands at Rs 26,092 crore, up from the previous year's revised allocation of Rs 25,448 crore.
    The SAMARTHYA sub-scheme -- supporting projects such as Women Hostels, Swadhar Greh and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana -- has been allocated Rs 2,516 crore, a slight increase from the previous revised budget when Rs 2,325 crore was allocated.
    A significant portion of this budget of the WCD ministry is directed towards the centrally sponsored schemes, which received Rs 25,848 crore.
    The flagship schemes under the ministry, such as Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, Mission VATSALYA and Mission Shakti, have been given substantial funds to continue their efforts in improving nutrition, child protection, and women's empowerment.
     Specifically, Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 have been allocated Rs 21,200 crore, aiming to combat malnutrition and support early childhood care.
    Mission VATSALYA, which focuses on child protection services and welfare, will receive Rs 1,472 crore, matching its previous allocation while Mission Shakti, divided into SAMBAL and SAMARTHYA sub-schemes, has been allocated Rs 3,145 crore.
    The SAMBAL sub-scheme, which includes initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and One Stop Centres for women's safety, is set to receive Rs 629 crore.
    NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma praised the government's efforts, highlighting the importance of women's contributions to the nation's growth.
    "Women are the backbone of any nation. Their empowerment and participation are crucial for sustainable growth and development. The government's allocation of over Rs 3 lakh crore for women's initiatives, such as hostels, creches, and skilling programmes, reflects a profound understanding of this reality," Sharma said.
     Meanwhile, the NGO Population Foundation of India, in a statement, said that it is surprised and disappointed that the Union Budget 2024-25 virtually neglected adequate investment in the health, nutrition, education and social empowerment of critical demographic groups identified by the government as GYAN -- Garib (poor), Yuva (youth), Annadata (farmers) and Nari (women).
     It was highly unexpected to see health to be missing among the nine top priorities of the government, shared by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech, it said.
    "While the government has shown its commitment to economic empowerment of young people and women, it seems to have ignored the need to invest adequately in their health, education, and social well-being," Executive Director of Population Foundation of India Poonam Muttreja said .
     "It has also failed to acknowledge changing population dynamics and the full impact of climate change on people’s health and well-being," she added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)