In her 2023-24 Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised nari-shakti, or “women’s potential”, and stated that facilitating inclusive, women-led development was the government’s priority. This was also reflected in India’s G20 commitments during its G20 presidency last year.
This year’s Union Budget also shows the government’s commitment to women’s economic empowerment, allocating Rs.3 trillion towards schemes benefiting women and girls, including establishing working women’s hostels and creches. Given education and skill development are cornerstones for unlocking women’s potential and enhancing their economic participation, investing in them sets off a positive cycle. Educated women have greater agency and decision-making power, are better equipped to enter the workforce, and contribute to economic growth. Moreover, empowered women are more likely to invest in their children’s education and health, impacting future generations.
In 2005-06, India introduced a gender budget, and it has helped incorporate gender considerations into all stages of policy-making since then. This approach includes creating policies, distributing resources, and ongoing assessment with a gender-sensitive outlook to address women’s challenges throughout their lives. While the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development leads the implementation of gender budgeting at the national level, Departments of Women and Child Development, Social Welfare, and Finance act as nodal agencies in the States and Union Territories. The Government of India publishes a Gender Budget Statement (Statement 13) annually along with the Union Budget.
Challenges of gender budgeting
Compared with the previous year, the gender budget for FY 2024-25 saw a substantial increase: from Rs.2.38 lakh crore in 2023-24, the budget estimate rose by 37 per cent to Rs.3.27 lakh crore in 2024-25—an absolute increase of approximately Rs.89,000 crore. This is divided into three parts: Part A reflects schemes with 100 per cent provision for women, Part B reflects schemes with at least 30 per cent allocations for women, and Part C reflects schemes with allocations for women up to 30 per cent. In 2023-24, the allocation distribution in these compartments stood at 37 per cent, 57 per cent, and 6 per cent respectively; in 2024-25, it stands at 34 per cent, 61 per cent, and 5 per cent. This indicates that while the gender budget has increased, the component allocated explicitly for women has declined since last year.
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Under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Government of India launched the “’Mission Shakti” programme to enhance efforts for women’s welfare, safety, and empowerment from 2021 to 2025. Mission Shakti includes two sub-schemes: “Sambal” focusses on safety and security and “Samarthya” empowers women. Between FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25, Sambal (which includes initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, One Stop Centre, Women’s Helpline, etc.) has witnessed an increase of 12 per cent from Rs.562 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.629 crore in 2024-25. However, Samarthya (which includes initiatives like Shakhi Niwas, or Working Women Hostel; Palna, or National Creche Scheme; Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, etc.) has witnessed a 3 per cent decline from Rs.2581.96 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.2516.97 crore in 2024-25.
The biggest challenge to gender budgeting is that it remains a mere 4-6 per cent of the total Budget even 19 years after its introduction. Another challenge is the lack of gender-disaggregated data being captured by government Ministries and departments, which is critical to assess the prevailing challenges and subsequently plan for targeted expenditure. Third, around 90 per cent of such budgeting is concentrated in five Ministries, which underscores the need to bring a gender perspective uniformly across all government schemes. Other challenges include limited monitoring, third-party evaluations, and gaps in gender audits.
Moral imperative
Gender-sensitive budgeting is not merely a fiscal exercise but a moral imperative. Women face deep-rooted and multifaceted systemic inequities and dismantling them requires robust and sustained investments across sectors. Gender inequality is pervasive in India and women are trapped in an oppressive cycle, starting even before they are born. Despite accounting for 48.4 per cent of India’s population (Census 2011), women have limited representation in leadership positions and decision-making roles. Globally, India has slipped two places to 129 out of 146 countries in 2024 as per the World Economic Forum’s annual Gender Gap Report, ranking third worst in Southern Asia.
The National Family Health Survey (2019-21) highlighted poor nutritional outcomes among all demographic groups, particularly women and girls, emphasising the need for a healthier, well-nourished workforce. Yet, the government’s flagship schemes on improving nutrition outcomes for adolescent girls—Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0—witnessed a marginal increase from Rs.20,554.31 crore (2023-24) to Rs.21,200 crore (2024-25).
Access to quality healthcare, including reproductive health services, is fundamental to women’s empowerment and overall economic productivity. With over 24 million currently married women aged 15-49 years not being able to access contraception, expanding the reach of these services is imperative. The modest increase in the Department of Health and Family Welfare’s allocation from Rs.86,175 crore to Rs.87,656 crore—an increase of less than 2 per cent—falls short of the substantial investments needed to improve healthcare access for women, young people, and marginalised communities.
While the budget for Family Welfare Schemes under Central Sector Schemes/Projects increased from Rs.516 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.694 crore in 2024-25 (an increase of 34 per cent), this line item focuses on the procurement of contraceptive supplies and payment to ASHA workers. Greater investments are needed for communication and awareness initiatives pushing social and behavioural change to promote demand for family planning and reproductive health services among women. This would also enable them to make informed decisions about having children.
Comprehensive approach needed
Holistic investments in women’s empowerment go beyond economic measures and involve a comprehensive approach that includes access to quality healthcare, legal protections, social participation, and economic empowerment. This would entail investing in measures to overcome societal and systemic barriers that prevent women and girls from pursuing their education and staying in the workforce, accessing reproductive and mental health services, and participating equally in the workforce with fair pay and conditions.
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Embedding gender-responsive budgeting within all Ministries should include thorough gender analysis, identification of key focus areas, meticulous planning, and establishment of short- and long-term objectives. Rather than confining gender budgeting to areas that directly benefit women’s development, it should also encompass sectors with inherent gender aspects or those that indirectly influence women’s welfare, thereby boosting their socio-economic participation.
By assessing its budgeting efforts not just to fulfil its gender commitments but also to guarantee that women’s concerns and needs are integrated into fiscal policy-making, India will ensure that its demographic dividend translates into sustainable development and gender equality and fosters a future of shared prosperity.
Sanghamitra Singh is currently Chief of Programmes at the Population Foundation of India.
