Gender Budget 2025-26: A Step Towards Inclusive Growth

Gender Budgeting has emerged as a critical tool for achieving gender equality and ensuring that public expenditure effectively addresses the needs of women and marginalized communities. The Gender Budget 2025-26, with a record allocation of ₹4.49 lakh crore, marks a significant commitment to women-centric policies, economic empowerment, and socio-political inclusion. However, challenges such as fund utilization issues, lack of gender-disaggregated data, digital exclusion, and institutional limitations continue to hinder its full impact.

1. Introduction: What is Gender Budgeting?

Gender Budgeting is a policy approach that integrates gender considerations into fiscal planning to ensure equitable resource allocation. It aims to address economic and social disparities between men and women by embedding gender-sensitive planning into mainstream budgetary decisions. While it does not imply separate budgets for women, it ensures that government policies and programs are designed to benefit both genders equitably.

Objectives of Gender Budgeting:

Promote inclusive growth by reducing gender disparities.
Ensure equitable allocation of public resources across different genders.
Enhance the participation of marginalized women in economic, social, and political spheres.

2. Key Highlights of Gender Budget 2025-26:

Total Allocation and Growth:

Total Gender Budget for 2025-26: ₹4.49 lakh crore.
Increase from 2024-25: 37.25% (from ₹3.27 lakh crore).
Major allocations focus on women’s empowerment, education, healthcare, and economic participation.

Focus Areas:

Women-Centric Schemes: Expansion of existing programs such as maternity benefits, self-help groups (SHGs), and women-led enterprises.
Economic Empowerment: Initiatives supporting financial inclusion, credit access, and employment generation.
Socio-Political Inclusion: Enhancing women's representation in governance, local bodies, and decision-making roles.

3. Challenges in Gender Budget Implementation:

Despite increased allocations, challenges persist in ensuring that funds effectively reach the most vulnerable women.

1. Limited Economic Benefits for Marginalized Women

Higher budget allocations do not always translate into direct economic upliftment for marginalized groups.
Bureaucratic hurdles and lack of last-mile connectivity prevent effective implementation of schemes.

2. Issues in SC/ST Women’s Welfare Initiatives

Ministry of Tribal Affairs Allocation: ₹14,925.81 crore (45.79% increase from ₹10,237.33 crore in 2024-25).
Fund Utilization Problems: Over 35% of SCSP/TSP funds remain unutilized due to bureaucratic red tape.
Lack of gender-disaggregated data prevents accurate impact assessment of policies on SC/ST women.

3. Outdated Census Data and Planning Gaps

Last Census conducted in 2011, making policy planning outdated and ineffective.
Tribal Women’s Literacy Rate: 49.4% (compared to 64.63% national average).
Lack of updated socio-economic indicators hinders targeted interventions.

4. Digital Exclusion and Technology Access

Shift toward digital transactions may exclude rural women with limited access to technology and financial literacy.
Women in rural and tribal areas have lower access to mobile banking, e-governance platforms, and fintech solutions.

5. Institutional Weakness in Gender-Sensitive Policies

Panchayati Raj institutions lack autonomy and resources to implement gender-inclusive policies effectively.
State-level variations in Gender Budgeting implementation create disparities in impact across different regions.

4. Significance of Gender Budgeting:

Ensures Gender-Responsive Governance: Aligns policies with women’s needs and fosters an inclusive economy.
Improves Social Indicators: Investments in healthcare, education, and employment lead to better health outcomes, reduced gender gaps, and increased workforce participation.
Strengthens Financial Independence: Encourages entrepreneurship, microfinance access, and credit availability for women.

5. Global Best Practices in Gender Budgeting

Several countries have successfully integrated gender-sensitive fiscal policies:

1. Sweden

Integrates gender-responsive budgeting into all government sectors.
Focuses on equal pay, childcare support, and workforce participation.

2. Canada

Uses Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+) to evaluate policies before implementation.
Funds are allocated based on gender impact assessments.

3. Australia

Established Women’s Budget Statement as a mandatory part of fiscal planning.
Increased transparency in gender-focused expenditure tracking.

4. South Korea

Legal mandates require that all ministries report gender impact of their budgets.
Created a dedicated Gender Budgeting Unit in the finance ministry.

6. Way Forward: Strengthening Gender Budget Implementation

1. Improving Fund Utilization & Targeting

Establish real-time monitoring to track fund deployment.
Implement direct benefit transfers (DBT) to ensure funds reach the intended beneficiaries.

2. Enhancing Gender-Disaggregated Data Collection

Conduct regular gender audits at national and state levels.
Use technology to map socio-economic indicators of women.

3. Strengthening Institutional Capacity

Empower Panchayati Raj institutions with funds and decision-making powers.
Create gender budgeting units in each state for effective execution.

4. Bridging the Digital Divide

Expand digital literacy programs for rural women.
Increase subsidized smartphone and internet access in remote areas.

5. Gender-Sensitive Policy Innovation

Implement gender-responsive procurement policies in government contracts.
Provide tax incentives for women-led businesses.

7. Conclusion:

The Gender Budget 2025-26 marks a progressive step towards gender-inclusive growth, but challenges such as fund utilization inefficiencies, outdated data, digital exclusion, and institutional gaps must be addressed.

A multi-pronged approach, involving enhanced monitoring, better data collection, digital inclusion, and institutional strengthening, is crucial to ensuring that gender budgeting translates into tangible benefits for women across all socio-economic backgrounds. By adopting global best practices and implementing targeted policy interventions, India can create a sustainable and equitable economic future for all.