In tune with FM’s statement that the Union Budget focuses on four castes, resource allocated for women in 2024-25, as reflected in the Gender budget statement, is Rs 3,27,158.44 crores which accounts for 6.79% of total budgetary envelope. This is certainly an enhancement from the BE of 6.19% allotted in 2023-24 and the 2.30% allocated in the first gender budget statement of 2004-05. This amount is allocated under three parts, Part A which includes schemes which have 100% of funds allotted for women, Part B which includes schemes where 30-99% allocation is for women and Part C which includes schemes where less than 30% of total funds is set apart for women. While better reporting on gender based resource allocation could partly account for this increase, an undisputed fact remains that significant amounts of resources have been set apart for providing basic amenities of housing under PMAY, water supply under Jal Jeevan Mission, electricity and LPG connection to poor households. These undoubtedly have significant gender implications. For eg PMAY ensures access to assets in the name of women while provision of tap water within one’s house can save up to one hour of walking for women to access the same. Such allocation of a bigger slice of the pie is all the more significant in the light of the recently released SDG Index India 2023-24 which reveals the lowest score of 49 for goal 5-gender equality -among all 17 goals indicating worst performance in this arena.

One major concern is that, despite the Economic Survey 2023-24 talking about India’s transition from women’s development to women led development where women are perceived as equal partners in the nation’s growth story, most of the budget provisions appear to be reflecting a welfare approach to women rather than a development approach. For instance, though FM specifically mentioned provision of creche facilities in her budget speech as an enabler to women’s paid employment, funds allotted for SAMARTHYA-the umbrella scheme under Mission Shakthi of MWCD- which provides for working women’s hostels, creche facilities (PALNA), PM Mathru Vandana Yojana scheme etc has decreased from Rs 4031 cr in last year’s budget to Rs 3504.84 cr this year. Such disregard is disheartening considering the recognition of motherhood penalty in the Economic survey. So also, the allocation in Gender budget statement for Skill India Program by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has declined from Rs 2278cr in last year’s budget to Rs 764 cr. Of the Rs 2784 cr allocated under Ministry of MSME, the major chunk– Rs 1447 cr targets a single category - the beneficiaries of PM Vishwakarma scheme and allocation for PMEGP has declined as compared to allocation in the interim budget. Such apparently low focus on women entrepreneurship is worrying considering the fact that women need special handholding to enter and survive in this arena. One hopes that the intense focus on agro processing will benefit rural women, large chunk of whom are engaged in agriculture, and that it will serve to uplift Lakhpati Didis from their current concentration in low skilled activities to a position higher up in the production value chain.