Gender budgeting? Govt of India allocates just 2.1%, 0.73% for SC, ST women

By Rajiv Shah
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), one of the most influential all-India Dalit rights networks, has taken strong exception to the manner in which the Government of India has undermined Gender Responsive Budgeting in the Union Budget 2019-20 for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs), pointing towards “wide gaps” between the goals and the situational reality of “the Dalit and Adivasi women on the ground.”
NCDHR, in its report titled "Dalit Adivasi Budget Analysis 2019-20", says that its analysis of the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) reveals that the allocation under GBS is Rs 1,36,934 crore, out of which appallingly for the SC and ST women only Rs 2,890 crore (2.1%) and Rs 1,006.74 crore (0.73%), respectively.
According to the report, “This is a clear paradox where on one side there is a huge discussion on inclusive development, while on the other there is very limited allocation addressing the needs of the SC and ST women.”
The report regrets, “Despite growing incidences of violence against SC and ST women there is an insignificant allocation of Rs 42 crore pertaining to their access to justice and adequate compensation”, adding, “There is only one scheme pertaining to the same, namely, Strengthening of Machinery for Enforcement of Protection of Civil Rights Act (PCR), 1955 and Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act,1989’ which is mainly towards sensitisation programmes.”
NCDHR comments, “There have been massive cases of violence against the Dalit and Adivasi women across the country demonstrating the systematic manner in which Dalit and Adivasi women are imperiled to extreme forms of violence and inhuman treatment for asserting their rights”, adding, “It is in this context that there is need to have more schemes pertaining to access to justice and adequate compensation for Dalit and Adivasi women.”
“Moreover”, NCDHR says, “Large number of schemes is non-targeted in nature, which means there is no direct bearing on the lives of Dalit and Adivasi women”, adding, “The budget also failed to make allocations for alternate sexual identities such as transgenders, bisexuals, and intersex. The budget has completely invisibilised them and has failed to address intersectionality.”

NCDHR notes that there is an overall increase in allocations for SCs and STs in the 2019-20 budget by 35.6% for SCs and 28% for STs, adding, for the first time, 329 schemes for SCs and 338 schemes for STs have been set aside for their welfare.
“However”, the report claims, “If we place these figures, against the background of large scale poverty among SC, ST communities as well as against the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, these schemes will not go far in addressing the development gap between SC-ST and the rest of the population.”
The proportion of targeted schemes is 42.82% for SCs and 40.9 % for STs, the report states, adding, the rest are “de facto general schemes, with a mask of SC or ST budget schemes. They do not qualify as SC, ST schemes that benefit the communities which it is intended to do.”
According to NCDHR, a “striking feature” of the 2019-20 budget is “the systemic undermining of number of critical schemes by starving them of necessary funds.”
These are related to Post Matric Scholarship, University Grants Commission, Rehabilitation of Bonded Labour, National Fellowship for SC, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Grants to Voluntary Organisations, land records modernization etc.
All of them have been denied “direct benefit” of necessary funds for SC-ST development, it adds.
Then, says the report, allocations for the nodal ministry for SCs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has been “significantly reduced compared to last year”, adding, “Other critical ministries which have witnessed steep declines in SC development are Rural Development, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Drinking Water and Sanitation.”
“Similarly, from the ST perspective, the critical ministries are MSME and Drinking Water and Sanitation with substantial decrease. There is only a marginal increase in allocations for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)”, the report asserts.
Similarly, the report states, “Majority of the huge allocations which are allocated in sub-plans are general in nature with no direct impact on the development of SC and ST communities. For example, the Income Support Scheme, which is renamed as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, with an allocation of Rs 12,450 crore, the Samagra Shiksha, with an allocation of Rs 7,264 crore, the National Rural Health Mission with allocation of Rs 6,611.47 crore all are general in nature.”

Comments

Uma said…

Shocking but not surprising

July 29, 2019

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog