New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that more than Rs 3 lakh crore has been allocated for schemes related to women and girls under various ministries to promote women-led development. Presenting the budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said that this (allocation) reflects the government’s commitment to increase the role of women in economic development.
She said, “More than Rs 3 lakh crore has been allocated in the budget for beneficial schemes related to women and girls in view of promoting women-led development.” Sitharaman said that the government will set up working women’s hostels to increase women’s participation in the workforce. One of the main features of the budget is the establishment of hostels for working women in partnership with industrial groups and creches to help working mothers.
These steps are aimed at increasing the balance between workplace and home for women, thereby enabling their greater participation in the workforce. Not only this, the budget also presents a blueprint for the launch of women-focused skill programs to increase the participation of working women. The number of working women has increased by 24 percent in the second quarter of the year 2024. The budget shows that according to the recent employment data, there has been a significant increase in the participation of working women.
About 2.40 lakh new women members have joined till May 2024, which shows an increase of 12.1 percent compared to last year.
There has been a 17.2 percent increase in the number of working women members compared to last year, which is a sign of positive change towards a more inclusive workforce. There has been a marginal increase of 2.5 percent in the Union Budget of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) for the financial year 2024-25. A provision of Rs 26,092 crore has been made in the budget for the ministry, while the revised budget amount in the last financial year was Rs 25,448 crore.
Sitharaman said that the government will set up working women’s hostels to increase the participation of women in the workforce.
Rs 2,516 crore has been allocated for the ‘Samarthya sub-scheme’ supporting projects such as women’s hostels, Swadhar (shelter) homes and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, which is slightly higher than the last revised budget of Rs 2,325 crore. A significant portion of this budget of the Ministry of Women and Child Development is earmarked for centrally-sponsored schemes. Rs 25,848 crore has been received for these schemes.
Ambitious schemes like Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti under this ministry have been given adequate funds to continue their efforts for better results towards nutrition, child protection and women empowerment. The budget has specially allocated Rs 21,200 crore for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, which aims to tackle the problem of malnutrition and support child care.
The Sambal sub-scheme includes initiatives like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and ‘One Stop Centre’ for women’s safety and a provision of Rs 629 crore has been made for this sub-scheme. National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma praised the government’s efforts while highlighting the importance of women’s contribution to the country’s development.
Sharma said, “Women are the backbone of any nation. Their empowerment and participation is crucial for sustainable growth and development. The government’s allocation of over Rs 3 lakh crore for initiatives such as women’s hostels, creches and skill development programmes reflects a profound understanding of this reality.” Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation (NGO) ‘Population Foundation of India’ said it was extremely unexpected to see health missing from the nine top priorities of the government shared by Sitharaman in her speech.
Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the foundation, said, “Although the government has shown its commitment to the economic empowerment of youth and women, it seems to have ignored the need for adequate investment in their health, education and social welfare.” She said, “It (the budget) has also failed to acknowledge the changing dynamics of the population and the full impact of climate change on people’s health and well-being.”
Government will build hostels for working women: Finance Minister Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday said that the government will build working women hostels to increase the participation of women as human resources. She said that as was mentioned in the interim budget, there is a need to focus on the poor, women, youth and farmers in the country.
Sitharaman said, “We will facilitate greater participation of women in the workforce by setting up hostels and creches for working women in collaboration with industries. Apart from this, efforts will be made to organize specific skill programs for women and promote market access for women self-help group enterprises under the partnership.”