Gender budgeting is a gender-based assessment of budgets. It includes a gender perspective at all stages of the budgetary process and allocates expenditure and revenues to promote gender equality. Gender Budgeting is concerned with gender-sensitive laws, programs, and schemes; resource allocation; implementation and execution; program and scheme audit and impact assessment; and follow-up remedial action to alleviate gender inequities. In this article, we will study gender budgeting which is important for the UPSC examination.

What is Gender Budgeting?

• It is not an accounting practice but rather a continuous process of keeping a gender perspective in policy formulation, implementation, and review.
• It entails dividing the government budgets to establish its gender-differential impacts and ensuring that gender commitments are translated into budgetary commitments.
• It is an effective method for achieving gender equity to ensure that development benefits reach women as much as men.

Importance of Gender-Based Budgeting (GBB)

• Gender-based budgeting is critical for eliminating gender inequalities along with significant improvements in the social, educational, health, and economic indicators of a country.
• Gender inequality hinders the overall growth and development of a nation. The GBB addresses budgetary gender inequality issues, such as how gender hierarchies influence budgets and gender-based unpaid or low-paid work.
• While some public expenditures are ‘non-excludable’ and ‘nonrival’ such as defense, road building, etc., some expenses like education, health, sanitation may have intrinsic gender implications and require separate evaluation of gender-specific needs.

Why do we need Gender Budgeting?

• There is an economic and social rationale behind introducing the GBB.
• Persistent gender inequality hinders the overall growth and development of a nation.
• The economic rationale for promoting a gender-sensitive budget also emanates from an efficiency and equity perspective.
• It also helps achieve social goals, therefore, justifying social rationale.
• The rationale for gender budgeting arises from the recognition of the fact that national budgets impact men and women differently through the pattern of resources allocation.

Framework for Gender Budgeting

There is a Five-Step Framework for Gender Budgeting which includes:

• Gender Analysis: It is a type of socio-economic analysis that uncovers how gender relations affect a development problem.
• Assessing gender gaps: Assessment of law, a policy that makes it possible to identify a given decision having negative consequences for the state of equality between women and men.
• Budgetary allocation: An assessment of the adequacy of budget allocations to implement the gender-sensitive policies and programs identified.
• Fiscal tracking: Monitoring whether the money was spent as planned, what was delivered, and to whom.
• Outcome assessment: An assessment of the impact of the policy and the extent to which the original issues identified have improved.

Gender Budgeting around the world

• Australia was the first country to implement a women-centric budget in 1984.
• Since then, around 80 countries have adopted gender-based budgeting.
• Even South Africa started Women-centric budget initiatives in 1995 and involved NGOs, parliamentarians, and a wide range of researchers and advisors.
• Other African states, Tanzania (1997) and Uganda (1999) started gender budget initiatives.
• In 2003 even the UK recognized the efficiency of giving money to women, it was announced that Child Tax Credit would be paid to the main carer-usually a woman.

Gender Budgeting in India

• In India, women constitute 48% of the total population. However, they are still marginalized in all walks of life, marked with inadequate and inequitable human capital investments, lagging in health, education, economic opportunities, etc.
• According to the World’s Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2021, India slipped to 140th position from its 112th position in 2020.
  • Therefore India must adopt measures that bridge these gender gaps, and one such way is by implementing effective Gender-Based Budgeting.
• GBB was introduced in the 2001 Union Budget to address gender inequality as a concept.
• It was adopted in 2004-05 based on the recommendations of an expert committee constituted by the Ministry of Finance on “Classification of Budgetary Transaction.”
• As defined by the GOI, a gender-responsive budget acknowledges the gender patterns in society and allocates money to make policies and programs gender-equitable.
• It refers to a systematic gender-differentiated impact of fiscal provisions, programs, and policies.
• In India, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is the nodal agency to implement GBB in India.
• Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), also carries out the study of GBB to design the matrices of gender budgeting.
• The MWCD, in collaboration with the UN Women, has also developed a Manual and Handbook for Gender Budgeting for Gender Budget Cells for Central Ministries and Departments.
• In recent years, the government of India introduced various schemes like MGNREGA, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samridhi Yojna, and Ujjawala Yojna with their focus on improving women socio-economic conditions.

Challenges of Gender Budgeting in India

• Non-utilisation of gender-specific funds: There are only a few “big budgets ' women exclusive schemes of MWCD like Nirbhaya Fund and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao that face non-utilization of funds.
• There is a lack of dedicated and skilled human resources to implement the allocated gender budgets in specified areas of concern.
• India’s gender budget has stagnated in recent years due to a lack of monitoring mechanisms at the national level.
• Some schemes that are 100% women-specific are not so, for example, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna PMAY.
• The central government’s gender budget has never been more than 1% of India’s GDP, and funds allocated for GBB are confined to public expenditure.
• Declining Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) which stood at 18.6% as calculated by the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2018.

Policy Recommendations

• There is a need to increase the allocations for women focussed programs. Priority sectors should be identified, and funds must be targeted in the same direction.
• Lahiri committee recommendations that provide a clear roadmap for preparing the analytical matrices for gender budgeting and institutional mechanisms like Gender Budgeting Cells must be implemented.
• Revising FRMB and incorporating gender goals also need to be analyzed and include SDGs goals number 5 on gender equality.

Gender Budget Analysis for FY 2021-22

• The GB's share of the budget has remained constant throughout time, at about 5%.
• The Gender Budget was Rs. 1,43,462 crore in the previous fiscal year, accounting for 4.72 percent of the entire budget.
• The government's gender-sensitive response to Covid-19 resulted in an increase in real expenditure to Rs. 2,07,261 crore.
• The post-pandemic environment remains challenging:
  • Women have seen disproportionate job losses due to covid induced economic slowdown.
  • Gender disparities in access to digital technologies have compounded the rise in female dropout rates from schools.
  • During the lockdown, there is an increase in domestic violence complaints.
  • Reproductive care, maternal health care, were threatened with the shutdown of Anganwadi centers.

Conclusion

The global advances toward gender equality require multiple strategies of which gender budgets are essential. There is a need for purposive gender budgeting and effective monitoring to ensure the optimal utilization of budgets. Women warrant special attention due to their marginalized condition in societies. Gender-targeted spending creates a virtuous cycle and multiplies effort on women’s living standards and overall growth and development.

FAQs

MCQs

1. When was gender budgeting introduced in India?

A) 2000
B) 2005
C) 2010
D) 2015

2. What is the primary goal of gender budgeting?

A) To reduce government spending
B) To ensure equal representation in parliament
C) To assess the impact of budgets on gender equality
D) To eliminate all gender disparities

3. Which Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is directly related to gender budgeting?

A) Goal 1
B) Goal 4
C) Goal 5
D) Goal 10

4. What is a major challenge in implementing gender budgeting in India?

A) Excess funding for women's programs
B) Lack of data disaggregation by gender
C) Strong political will
D) High awareness among policymakers

5. How does gender budgeting promote accountability in governance?

A) By increasing taxes
B) By making budgetary processes more transparent
C) By limiting government expenditures
D) By enforcing strict penalties

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Examine the importance of gender budgeting in fostering economic development in India.

Answer: Gender budgeting is crucial for fostering economic development in India as it addresses gender disparities and promotes equitable resource allocation. By analyzing the impact of government expenditures on women and marginalized groups, gender budgeting ensures that economic policies are inclusive and responsive to the needs of all citizens. This approach helps to enhance women's access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities, thereby increasing their participation in the workforce. Moreover, empowering women economically contributes to overall economic growth, as it enables families to invest more in education and health, leading to improved societal outcomes. Gender budgeting also promotes social stability by reducing inequalities, thereby creating a more cohesive society that can drive sustainable development. In essence, gender budgeting serves as a vital tool for achieving holistic economic progress in India.

Q2: Discuss the challenges and strategies for effective implementation of gender budgeting in India.

Answer: The effective implementation of gender budgeting in India faces several challenges, including inadequate data collection, lack of awareness among policymakers, and limited capacity of government agencies to analyze gender-related impacts. These challenges can hinder the successful integration of gender perspectives into the budgeting process. Strategies to overcome these challenges include enhancing data disaggregation by gender to provide a clearer picture of resource allocation and its impacts. Conducting capacity-building programs for government officials can improve their understanding of gender issues and budgeting practices. Additionally, fostering collaboration between government agencies and civil society organizations can enhance the effectiveness of gender budgeting initiatives by ensuring that diverse perspectives are considered. Ultimately, these strategies can help create a more inclusive budgeting process that effectively addresses gender disparities.

Q3: Analyze the role of gender budgeting in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India.

Answer: Gender budgeting plays a pivotal role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India, particularly Goal 5, which focuses on gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. By incorporating gender perspectives into budgeting processes, it ensures that public resources are allocated effectively to address the unique challenges faced by women and marginalized groups. This alignment supports broader SDGs by promoting social equity, reducing poverty, and enhancing access to education and healthcare for women. Furthermore, gender budgeting facilitates accountability and transparency in governance, empowering women to participate actively in decision-making processes that affect their lives. By fostering an environment where women's rights are prioritized, gender budgeting significantly contributes to the achievement of sustainable development outcomes in India.

Previous Year Questions on Gender Budgeting

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2021:

Question: What is the primary objective of gender budgeting?

A) To reduce government spending
B) To ensure that public expenditure addresses gender disparities
C) To eliminate gender-specific taxes
D) To promote economic growth without considering gender

Answer: (B)

Explanation: The primary objective of gender budgeting is to ensure that public expenditure addresses gender disparities, promoting equality and empowerment for women and marginalized groups.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2019 (GS Paper 1):

Question: Assess the significance of gender budgeting in the context of India's economic policies.

Answer: Gender budgeting is significant in the context of India's economic policies as it highlights the importance of integrating gender considerations into public finance decisions. This approach ensures that women's needs and contributions are recognized in policy formulation, leading to more inclusive economic growth. By focusing on gender equality, gender budgeting promotes social justice and enhances the effectiveness of government programs aimed at poverty alleviation and development. Additionally, it aligns with international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasize the need for gender-responsive policies. Therefore, gender budgeting is essential for creating a balanced economic framework that supports sustainable development and empowerment for all.