The government needs to adopt a more subtle gender-responsive budget to tackle gender inequality in India.
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The first Gender Budget Budget was presented in India in 2001. In 2003, the Government of India suggested that all ministries and departments should include a section on sexual issues in their respective annual reports. In 2004, an expert group was set up to classify government practices and "examine the feasibility of gender budgeting and suggest a general approach". By January 1, 2005, all departments and ministries were instructed to form a Gender Budget Cell in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
In 2005, the Ministry of Finance issued its first note on the Gender Budget under the Annual Budget Circular. The Gender Budget Statement in India has two parts:
- Part A includes budget-specific women-specific schemes, which provide 100 percent allocation for women (schemes like Potion 2.0).
- Part B includes pro-women schemes with provision for at least 30 per cent to 99 per cent women (e.g. overall punishment).
Subsequently, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance issued guidelines on 8 March 2007 to underline the functions of the Gender Budget Cell (GBC). The Gender Budget Scheme was launched to build capacity and support research, planning, budgeting and promotion. Implementation process with lenses allowing state governments and government agencies to use the scheme. Later in 2013, a set of guidelines highlighting a road map towards institutionalizing gender budgeting was issued to all states.
The much-awaited gender budget in 2022 has been reduced from 4.4 per cent in 2021 to 4.3 per cent of the total Union budget.
As of 2015-16, 56 Ministries and Departments have set up Gender Budgeting Cells but India's gender budget has been less than 5 per cent for the last five years. The much-awaited gender budget in 2022 fell from 4.4 per cent in 2021 to 4.3 per cent of the total Union budget. Although the budget has increased in absolute numbers, it has decreased in line with the overall central budget. In 2021, the allocation for the gender budget was US $ 19.7 billion, an increase of 11 percent to US $ 22.05 billion. In addition, US $ 3.45 billion has been allocated for Part A of the scheme, which focuses on women-specific schemes, an increase of 6 per cent over last year's US $ 3.25 billion. Part B of the plan, which includes pro-women schemes, with a primary focus on women, allocates 84 percent of the total gender budget to US $ 18.6 billion. This section of the budget has been increased by 12 per cent. From US $ 16.6 billion. In 2020, the pre-epidemic gender budget was 4.72 percent of the central budget.
Despite the fact that 48 per cent of the country's population is women, they have to bear the brunt of the epidemic. However, areas such as digital literacy, skills training, and domestic violence against women received only 2 percent of the budget.
Lessons from Namibia
Namibia ranks sixth in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Index 2021, followed by Rwanda, the only two African countries to top the list. Although India ranks 131st in HDI (Human Development Index) and Namibia 130th, Namibia has 91.7 per cent legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality under the SDG index compared to 83.3 per cent in India.
After independence from South Africa in 1990, the Namibian government, in 1997, adopted the National Gender Policy (NGP) and the National Action Plan (NPAC), which were approved in 1998. Since the launch of the National Gender Policy (2010-2020) and the National Plan of Action (NPAC) policy, the government has come a long way and created gender cells in every O / M / A (office / ministry / agency). In 2014-15, the number of women in parliament increased significantly - from 25 per cent to 47 per cent. In addition, politicians were trained in gender sensitivity; Parliamentary debate grew from a gender perspective; And the Namibian government approved NAD $ 5.4 billion for the Gender Responsive Budgeting (equivalent to 9.2 percent of the total budget) for the 2022 annual budget.
Since the launch of the National Gender Policy (2010-2020) and the National Plan of Action (NPAC) policy, the Namibian government has come a long way and created gender cells in every O / M / A (office / ministry / agency).
In 2015, Namibia’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) drafted Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) guidelines. These guidelines highlight the current gender inequality challenges facing Namibia, including: adolescent pregnancies, gender-based violence, high poverty levels, especially among young women, and inadequate funding for sex programs. The guidelines list strategic measures to effectively address challenges such as adopting gender-specific expenditures that promote gender equality in public services, conducting gender budget analysis, and developing gender-responsive budget tracking tools for parliament.
Approach to Gender Responsive Budgeting in Namibia
Namibia adopts two major GRB methods:
- Three-tier cost approach
- Gender-Specific Expenses: Allocated specifically for programs targeting groups of women, men, girls and boys. This includes spending on maternal health, girls' education, micro-credit and income-generating activities for women.
- Expenditure promoting gender equality in public service: This includes allocation for equal employment opportunities between government departments and authorities.
- General or mainstream spending: This category focuses on different effects on women, men, girls and boys. This includes all costs, which are not included in the above two categories. This includes spending on education, health, infrastructure, mining, security and defense.
- Five-step approach to gender-responsive budgeting
- Analysis and assessment of both genders into age slabs:
- It analyses gender needs and uses them to plan and design programs.
- Gender Analysis of Policy Framework: This step examines policies, plans and programs to determine if they meet the needs of the groups identified in the first step.
- Gender Analysis of Budget: This includes the necessary revenue and expenditure analysis in line with the strategic objectives and priority needs of the target groups.
- Monitoring the implementation of the budget: This includes taking measures that will be spent as per the planned budget.
Assessing the Gender Impact of the Policy and the Relevant Budget: This is the stage of evaluation where the impact is examined and it is imperative to understand whether the objectives are meeting the needs of the target groups.
Measures can be taken by MWCD to create a framework that ensures planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the progress of initiatives and assessment of whether objectives are being met.
As per NDP (National Development Plan) 5, 2017-2022, the government plans to include GRB guidelines in all O / M / As. Coordinating mechanism for implementation of NGP has been activated, MGECW plans to increase GBV (Gender-Based Violence) from 33 per cent to 20 per cent in 2015. Moreover, 10 out of Namibia’s O / M / As have analyzed their budgets through gender lenses, accounting for about 70 per cent of the total budget allocation. This analysis showed that nine out of 10 are implementing O / M / GRB.
Gender inequality is a major obstacle to India's development. Bringing GRB into the mainstream and taking lessons from Namibia's strategic initiatives must adhere to a subtle approach that addresses the needs and challenges of vulnerable groups now and in the future. Measures can be taken by MWCD to create a framework that ensures planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the progress of initiatives and assessment of whether objectives are being met. Administrations across the country should train employees on gender sensitivity, income-generating resources and allocation of funds. In order to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, participation and coordination among ministries at all levels is essential.
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