Gender budgeting? Central allocation for 2015-16 lowest in five years

By A Representative
A fresh analysis of the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) for 2015-16 has revealed that the total allocation under it as proportion of the Union budget has been progressively going down, with 2015-16 being the lowest of the last five years.

In 2015-16, the analysis, carried out by a reputed non-profit organization, says that allocation under gender budgeting is 0.94 per cent of the Union budget, as against 1.04 per cent in 2014-15, 1.53 per cent in 2013-14, 1.32 per cent in 2012-13 and 1.55 per cent in 2011-12.
Especially referring to specific schemes, under which gender budgeting takes effect, the analysis has found that, in absolute numbers, the allocation for midday meal is down from Rs 3,965 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,771 crore in 2015-16; for the Scheme for the Protection and Development of Women from Rs 315 crore to Rs 78 crore; for Rashtriya Uccha Shiksha Abhiyan from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,010 crore; and for the Integrated Child Development Scheme from Rs 10,735 crore to Rs 7,502 crore.
Carried out by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), New Delhi, the analysis says the Government of India believes the lower allocation would compensated with “enhanced devolution of Union Taxes to states as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission”, with states asked to "contribute from their enhanced resources”

"However", comments the analysis, "It is important to note that the allocation of resources to these schemes by states would depend on the prioritisation for these by the states." The fact is, "the magnitude of funds meant exclusively for women have declined as a proportion of the Union Budget and GDP in 2015-16. This decline is indicative of the reduced priority for women in the Union Budget."
The analysis further states, "Only three schemes, i.e., Infrastructure Maintenance (Department of Health and Family Welfare), Nirbhaya Fund for Safety of Women (Department of Economic Affairs) and Indira Awas Yojana have allocations exceeding Rs. 1,000 crore. Likewise, only two schemes, Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (Ministry of Women and Child Development) and Scheme on Women Safety on Public Road Transport from Nirbhaya Fund (Ministry of Road Transport& Highways) have allocations of more than Rs. 100 crore."

According to the analysis, "Most schemes, meant only for women have allocations of less than Rs 100 crore. The need to strengthen budgetary outlays, especially for interventions to address violence against women, has been ignored in Union Budget 2015-16. The Government earlier last year announced the setting up of a One Stop Crisis Centre in each district of the country", which "cannot be met from the allocations in this Budget. The allocations for this scheme stand at Rs 2 core in 2015-16 (BE)."
Further, says the analysis, "Important schemes like Women’s Helpline and Scheme for Assistance to States for Implementation of Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005 have not been allocated the necessary outlays, even as there are unutilized funds under the Nirbhaya Fund."
It adds, "Among the schemes by Ministry of Women and Child Development that will have a changed sharing pattern is the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS). The scheme is being transferred to states, whereby the Union Government will provide capital expenditure (such as expenditure on construction of Anganwadi Centres etc.). The states would be expected to bear the revenue expenditure), which is going to be the large part of expenditure under the scheme."

Comments

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi* This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu* There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...

NREGA Sangharsh Morcha demands rollback of NMMS App, restoration of workers’ rights

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) has strongly demanded the immediate revocation of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) App used for recording workers’ attendance under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Citing the Union Ministry of Rural Development’s (MoRD) July 8, 2025 directive acknowledging widespread misuse and discrepancies in the NMMS App, NSM accused the government of admitting to deep-rooted corruption while continuing to impose a failed digital system.

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

How AMU student politics prioritises Islamist ideologies rather than addressing campus-specific concerns

By Yanis Iqbal* In his recent piece titled "Unmasking the Power Struggles of Soqme Teachers Behind the AMU Students’ Agitation," Mohammad Sajjad, professor of modern and contemporary Indian history at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has has approached the recent protests against fee increases at AMU with a skeptical eye. He portrays them not as a pure, student-led reaction to financial burdens, but as possibly intertwined with deeper institutional rivalries. While recognizing that the university administration faces ongoing demands from the government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to boost self-generated revenue via fee adjustments, he highlights a key shortfall: neither the administration nor the protesters have shared clear, comparative data on fee structures or their rationale.

Nuns' release highlights political calculus behind anti-conversion laws, Christian persecution

By John Dayal* The release last week from a Chhattisgarh jail of two Catholic nuns, arrested on charges of human trafficking and illegal conversion, offers little comfort to the scores of Christian pastors and believers incarcerated on similar charges under anti-conversion laws prevalent in a dozen Indian states.

Search This Blog