During her budget statement in Parliament on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted programs aimed at increasing women’s employment. In an announcement that reaffirmed the government’s commitment to holistic development, especially for farmers, youth, women, and the impoverished, she announced the allocation of ₹3 trillion for programs that support women and girls.
“We will work with industries to establish working women’s hostels and creches in order to promote higher workforce participation among women,” Sitharaman said. She also outlined efforts to establish collaborations in order to create skill-building events specifically for Indian women.
“We are committed to improving the role of women and girls in economic development, as evidenced by the budget’s allocation of over ₹3 lakh crore for initiatives that benefit them,” she stressed.
The federal government started interministerial initiatives to increase female labor force participation earlier this year. These initiatives included a public survey on workplace amenities for women, the release of national minimum standards and protocols for creches, advice measures for employers to enforce statutory provisions, and an emphasis on growing the number of working women’s hostels.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has been given a slightly higher budget, according to the budget document. The budget outlay has increased to ₹26,092.19 crore from ₹25,448.68 crore in the revised estimates for 2023–2024. The revised budget for the SAMARTHYA sub-scheme, which funds initiatives including women’s hostels, Swadhar Greh, and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, is ₹2,516 crore, a little increase above the ₹2,325 crore revised budget from the previous year.
The budget paper also notes that the WCD ministry spends ₹25,848 crore on centrally funded programs, which accounts for a sizeable amount of the ministry’s budget.