GENDER BUDGET STATEMENT (GBS) 2025-26

The Gender Budget Statement (GBS) 2025-26 introduces increased allocations and broader ministry participation, strengthening gender-responsive budgeting (GRB).

Key Highlights of GBS 2025-26

  • Budget Increase: ₹4.49 lakh crore (8.86% of Union Budget 2025-26), 5% rise from FY 2024-25.
  • Largest Gender Budget: Focuses on women’s welfare, education, and economic empowerment, with 49 ministries reporting allocations.
  • Categorization: Gender Budget classified into three parts for systematic allocation.

Gender Budgeting in India:

  • Definition: A tool to allocate resources based on gender-specific needs, ensuring gender-sensitive policies.
  • Background:
    • India ratified CEDAW in 1993, leading to its first GBS in 2005-06.
    • Falls under Samarthya sub-scheme of Mission Shakti.
  • Implementation Levels:
    • Central: Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD).
    • State: Women & Child Development, Social Welfare, Finance and Planning Departments.
    • District: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW), with gender specialists.
  • Importance:
    • Addresses discrimination & exploitation, promoting SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
    • Supports women-centric laws like the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 & POSH Act, 2013.
  • Need for Gender Budgeting:
    • Moral & Economic Imperative: Helps break gender inequality
    • Global Ranking: India ranks 129th out of 146 in Gender Gap Report 2024.
    • Intergenerational Impact: Women invest in children’s education & health, boosting development.

Challenges in Gender Budgeting

  • Ambiguities in Allocation:
    • Unclear methodology leads to misclassification, e.g., MGNREGS underreported, PMAY-G women’s ownership issue.
  • Fund Concentration:
    • 90% of gender budget concentrated in a few ministries, reducing sectoral impact.
  • Long-term Scheme Dominance:
    • Schemes like Ayushman Bharat & Awas Yojana take funds away from immediate-impact programs like Mission Shakti & female education.
  • Weak Monitoring & Evaluation:
    • Lack of gender-segregated data, ineffective tracking, and poor impact assessments hinder evaluation.
  • Political Will:
    • GRB may not align with political priorities, leading to inadequate support.

Way Forward

  • Integration Across Ministries:
    • Ensure gender-sensitive budgeting in infrastructure, rural development, and other sectors.
  • Encourage State GRB:
    • Increase state-level GRB focus, prioritizing vulnerable women.
  • Transparent Reporting:
    • Publicly disclose allocation methodologies & rationales, regular gender audits.
  • Capacity Building:
    • Training officials on gender budgeting to improve policy design & implementation.

This framework ensures greater gender equity in fiscal planning and execution.

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