PM IAS MARCH 14 EDITORIAL ANALYSIS

The gender budget — bigger allocations, little impact

Context: If the gender budget does not take into account the combined effects of caste, class, gender, and the digital gap, it will not effectively support India’s women.

Introduction

The Union Budget 2025-26 has been praised for significantly increasing funds for women-focused schemes, with the total gender budget reaching ₹4.49 lakh crore—a 37.25% rise from last year’s ₹3.27 lakh crore. Even after accounting for an estimated inflation rate of 3.61%, the increase remains considerable.

Despite rising allocations, why are the results poor?

Year	Gender Budget Allocation (₹ Crore)
2022-23	1,71,006.47
2023-24	2,38,219.75
2024-25	3,27,158.44
2025-26	4,49,028.68

What are the key Observations?

• The consistent rise in gender budget allocation highlights the government’s commitment to reducing gender disparities.
• However, despite increased spending, economic benefits for women, particularly those from marginalised groups like Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), have not improved proportionally.

Allocations for Marginalised Groups (2025-26):

Scheme	Allocated Amount (₹ Crore)	Purpose
Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN)	300	Socio-economic development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan	75	Tribal welfare initiatives

What are the key challenges and recommendations?

• Despite two decades of gender budgeting, past evaluations have not been effectively incorporated, leading to gaps in addressing caste, class, and tribal intersections.
• As Vikas Singh from Daang Vikas Sansthan notes, digitization has created access barriers for women lacking digital literacy.
• Eliminating intermediaries through digital systems is a step forward, but urgent investment in digital literacy programs is necessary to ensure women can independently access welfare benefits.

Outdated Census data, other gaps

Budget Allocation and Challenges for SC/ST Women

Category	Union Budget 2025-26 Allocation (₹ Crore)	% Increase from Previous Year
Ministry of Tribal Affairs	14,925.81	45.79% (from ₹10,237.33 crore)
Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP)	Not Detailed	–
Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP)	Not Detailed	–

What are the key issues and gaps?

1. Lack of Gender-Specific Data
   • SCSP and TSP funds are distributed across Ministries, but without gender-disaggregated data, assessing their direct impact on SC/ST women is difficult.
   • The absence of an updated Census since 2011 further weakens data-driven policy decisions.
2. Underutilisation of Funds
   • According to the Dalit Adivasi Budget Analysis 2023-24 (NCDHR), over 35% of SCSP and TSP allocations remain unspent due to:
     • Bureaucratic delays
     • Complex paperwork and procedural barriers
     • Low outreach and poor information dissemination
3. Limited Accessibility to Welfare Schemes
   • Many SC/ST women struggle to access benefits due to financial jargon and a lack of awareness.
   • Despite economic surveys detailing allocations, women primarily seek schemes, subsidies, and direct government support to ease daily hardships.
4. Challenges in Tribal Areas
   • Government schemes often fail to address regional, cultural, and social diversities.
   • Poor access to education and healthcare in tribal regions further marginalises women.
   • The literacy rate among tribal women (49.4%) is significantly lower than the national female literacy rate (64.63%) (Census 2011).

What are the recommendations?

• Ensure gender-specific tracking of SCSP and TSP allocations to measure impact on women.
• Improve community involvement in planning and fund utilisation.
• Simplify procedures and enhance awareness campaigns to increase accessibility.
• Invest in education and healthcare tailored to tribal regions for long-term empowerment.

Key Insights from Sandeep Patnaik on Gender Budgeting and Local Governance

• Strengthening Local Institutions: Increasing budget allocations alone is not enough; effective utilisation of existing funds is equally important.
  • Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) play a crucial role in ensuring last-mile delivery of services.
  • However, PRIs often lack autonomy and resources to implement gender-sensitive policies effectively.
• Addressing the Issue of “Sarpanch Husbands”: Many elected women representatives face proxy rule by their husbands, limiting their ability to bring real change.
  • The government must introduce strict regulations to curb this practice and empower women leaders.

Recommendations for an Effective Gender Budget

• Intersectional Gender Budget Audits: Gender budgets should be designed after thorough audits that account for caste, class, and tribal identities at both the central and state levels.
•  Community-Led Participatory Approaches: The government must involve women from SC/ST backgrounds in planning and monitoring welfare schemes.
  • Kerala’s Kudumbashree mission is a successful example where community-led implementation improved outreach and effectiveness.
• Transparent Fund Monitoring and Public Accountability: Establish transparent tracking systems to ensure funds are used effectively.
  • A gender budget tracking portal should be created to enhance public accountability and oversight.

Conclusion

Increasing the budget for women is a good step, but real progress depends on how well it is used. If issues like caste, class, gender, and the digital gap are ignored, the budget will not truly help women. To bring real change, policies must go beyond symbolic efforts and focus on fairness, accessibility, and accountability.