Fri Mar 07 02:30:00 UTC 2025: ## India’s Budget Falls Short on Women’s Empowerment Promises, Despite Rhetoric

**New Delhi, March 7, 2025** – While the Indian government frequently emphasizes women’s empowerment as a cornerstone of its “Viksit Bharat 2047” vision, a new analysis reveals a significant gap between rhetoric and reality in budget allocations. Despite a nominally increased “gender budget” to 8.9% of the overall budget, the actual investment in women-centric initiatives falls far short of expectations.

Researchers at ICRIER (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations) found that while the number of ministries contributing to gender-related schemes has increased, the allocation to key sectors remains disappointingly low. For instance, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), crucial for women-led businesses, received only 0.7% of the gender budget, with a paltry ₹38.4 crore allocated to women’s skill development. Similarly, allocations for skill development and childcare services – crucial for women’s workforce participation – are significantly inadequate.

The analysis highlights a concerning trend: a decrease in funding for schemes exclusively benefiting women and girls (Part A) and an increase in schemes with partial allocation (Part B and C). The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), a significant agricultural subsidy, is largely inaccessible to women due to land ownership patterns. While significant allocations were made to housing and rural employment schemes (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), these fail to address the systemic barriers preventing women’s full economic participation.

The study also reveals significant disparities among states, with some, like Gujarat, allocating over 37% of their budget to women-centric programs, while others like Maharashtra allocate a mere 3%.

The researchers conclude that despite the government’s stated commitment, the current budget falls short of meaningfully supporting women’s economic empowerment. They argue that substantial increases in investment in skill development, childcare, and women-led businesses in sectors like manufacturing and finance are necessary to achieve genuine gender parity and progress toward a “Viksit Bharat.”

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