Gender Responsive Budgeting in India

Abstract

plan outlay and outcome, local and global implications of pro-poor and pro-women budgeting. A gender analysis of government budgets offers a new tool for ensuring a better match between the Keywords: Gender Responsive Budgeting, Gender government's policy commitments and development Dimension, Budget outcomes for women recognizing underlying gender 1. Introduction inequalities and redressing them through the allocation The budget represents the financial plan and of public resources. The essence of Gender Responsive hence is the most significant policy instrument of Budgeting (GRB) is to integrate a gender dimension the government for establishing macroeconomic into every step of the budget process. GRB consists of stability, fiscal efficiency and strategic priority, the use of tools to analyze the gender dimensions of and more importantly, for ensuring the equitable budgets, and the adoption of procedures to ensure that distribution of resources in the country. Simply the budget supports the achievement of gender equality. put, it is a policy-making tool of the government to The Planning Commission of India has always focused translate the government's objectives into on women's issues as per the perceptions of their programs and services to achieve socioeconomic members on women's status within the economy; which developments of the country. now perceives the promotion of inclusive growth for Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is a means of gender concerns. GRB initiatives do not seek to create integrating a gender dimension into all steps of the separate budgets to address women's gender concerns. budget process. It is about taking into account the Instead, they seek to view the Government Budget from different needs and priorities of both women and a gender perspective in order to assess how it will men without gender exclusivity. Gender address the different needs of women. Responsive Budgeting ensures that budgets are Various discourses that were implemented through gender-sensitive and not gender neutral, which budgetary allocation for reducing gender inequalities means that they are geared towards establishing are Child Sex Ratio, Reproductive and Child Health, gender equality. GRB consists of the use of tools to Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Under analyse the gender dimensions of budgets, and category of 100% allocation for women, Budgetary adoption of procedures to ensure that the budget Allocation for Water Supply & Sanitation, Energy supports the achievement of gender equality. Expenditure of Women, Social Security for Women in Informal Sector, Women's Rights Education, A gender analysis of government budgets offers a Utilisation of Financial Allocation for Pro Women new tool for ensuring a better match between Schemes, Fund flow to PRIs, Road and Rail Transport government's policy commitments and for Women. development outcomes for women recognizing The study suggests further improvement can be made underlying gender inequalities and redressing in budgets by increasing the visibility of women in them through the allocation of public resources. statistics, a reduction in taxes for working, self-Gender Budgeting aims to ensure a just and employed and business women. Also, studies should be efficient distribution of public resources for the all-commissioned on focusing to reduce the gap between