Towards a new dawn

Gender Budgeting : An Overview

Dr. Paramita MajumdarSenior Consultant, Gender Budgeting

Ministry of Women and Child Development

For Officials of Health Department, Government of BiharGender Resource Centre, Women Development Corporation,

Govt of Bihar, Patna Saturday, 6th August 2016

May 1, 2023 1

Towards a new dawnFrom Welfare to Empowerment• Post-Independence, planned development adopted - framing of

the five year plans, the first major step taken in the direction of welfare state.

• The First FYP (1951–56) contemplated welfare measures for women, e.g. –

- Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was established in 1953- Mahila Mandals were organised and - Community Development programme launched as a pilot in

1952• The Third (1961-66), Fourth (1969-74) and other interim plans

accorded high priority to women’s education and introduced measures to improve material and child health services. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, The Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act, 1971, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was enacted

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Towards a new dawnFrom Welfare to Empowerment• 5th FYP (1974-78) the shift was from welfare to development.

The Equal Remuneration Act 1976 enacted

• 6th FYP plan made a landmark in the history of women's development by including a separate chapter

• 7th Plan (1985-90) DWCD in the MHRD established, also introduced monitoring of 27 major women specific schemes and the quantum of funds flowing to women , The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act 1987

• National Commission for Women (NCW) constituted on 31.1.1992 as an apex level statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990

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Towards a new dawnFrom Welfare to Empowerment• The approach of the 8th Plan (1992-97) made a definite shift from

development to empowerment of women. For the first time the need to ensure a definite flow of funds from general developmental sectors to women was highlighted.

• The strategy in the 8th Plan was to ensure that the benefits of development from different sectors did not bypass women. The main objective was to extend the reach of services to women both qualitatively and quantitatively.

• The 8th Plan focused on empowering women, especially at the grass roots level, through Panchayati Raj Institutions.

• Rashtriya Mahila Kosh was set up in 1993 to help the economically poor and deserving women

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Towards a new dawnFrom Welfare to Empowerment• The 9th FYP (1997-2002), adopted Women Component Plan as

one of the major strategies and directed both the Central and the State Governments to ensure “not less than 30 per cent of the funds/benefits are earmarked in all the women’s related sectors”

• The budget announcement in 2000-01, clearly stated in its Para 23 that - There is an urgent need for improving the access of women to national resources and for ensuring their rightful place in the mainstream of economic development........

• The 10th Plan (2002-2007) initiated action in tying up the concept of Women's Component Plan and Gender Budgeting exercises to develop a gender perspective in planning.

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Towards a new dawnFrom Welfare to Empowerment

• The National Policy for Empowerment of Women (2001) envisaged introduction of a gender perspective in the budgeting process as an operational strategy

• NPEW Slogan - Empowered Women Empowered Society• The 10th Plan aimed at empowering women through translating

the NPEW into action• The 11th Plan states that ‘gender equity requires adequate

provisions to be made in policies and schemes across Ministries and Departments. It also entails strict adherence to Gender Budgeting across the board.

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Towards a new dawn

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9th FYP10th FYP

11th & 12th FYP

Welfare

Development

Empowerment

Gender Budgeting

From Welfare to Empowerment

Women’s Component

Plan

Towards a new dawnFYPs and GB in India (1) 77thth FYP 1985- FYP 1985- Ministry of Human Resource Development set up - Dept. for WCD

constituted in HRD Ministry27 major women specific schemes identified for monitoring to assess quantum of funds/benefits flowing to women

(2) 88thth FYP(1992-97) FYP(1992-97) for the first time highlighted the need to ensure a definite flow of funds from general developmental sectors to women

(3) 99thth FYP (1997-2002) FYP (1997-2002) Women’s Component Plan- 30% of funds were sought to be ear-marked in all women related sectors – inter-sectoral review and multi-sector approach. Special vigil to be kept on the flow of the earmarked funds/benefits

(4) 1010thth FYP (2002-2007 FYP (2002-2007) ) Reinforces commitment to gender budgeting to establish its gender-differential impact and to translate gender commitments into budgetary commitments. GB Statement the new entry point introduced in the Union Budget

(5) 1111thth FYP (2007 -2012) – FYP (2007 -2012) – Focussed on adequate provisions to be made in policies and schemes across Mins/Depts &strict adherence to GRB across the board.

(6) 1212thth FYP (2012-2017) FYP (2012-2017) envisages strengthening of GB initiatives e.g., modification of planning and budget approval systems to make gender clearance and specific approvals of GBCs mandatory , GB and gender audit in Rural and ULBs

Towards a new dawnInternational Commitment – Towards Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

• India ratified CEDAW on 25-6-1993 (with one reservation and two declaratory statements) and submits reports every four years on measures taken to comply with their obligations. .

• The 4th World UN Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 set out a global Platform for Action on gender equality, building on CEDAW and other human rights instruments. India accepted the PFA without reservation.

• Since 2000, India worked towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for promoting gender equality and empowerment of women

• Set to enter the era of Sustainable Development Goals also called Global Goals and Agenda 2030

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Towards a new dawn

Gender Budgeting: An Overview

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Towards a new dawnWhat is Gender Budgeting?• Gender Budgeting is a process of incorporating a gender

perspective at all stages of policy making:- Legislation- Policy formulation- Planning- Programme and Scheme formulation, - Resource allocation- Implementation and - Review and impact assessment.

• It tries to determine corrective actions that are required so that Government Policies, Plans, Programmes, Schemes and Budgets meet the needs of women and girls as well as men and boys.

• Gender Budgets are not separate budgets for women or for men.

Towards a new dawnWhat is Gender Budgeting? (contd)

•  Policies have different outcomes for men and women. •  Gender Budgeting analyses ANY budget in terms of its impact on

women & men, girls & boys. And beyond that for its impact on the rich and poor, caste, tribe, etc

• It is not about setting aside x% for gender/women or 50% for men and 50% for women

• It is an approach to developing plans in a participatory way, based on identifying priority needs – not just of those with voice.

• It requires that women are treated as equal partners in decision making and implementation rather than only as beneficiaries.

• It challenges gender biases in social norms• It seeks to attain equity in outcomes • And corrective reprioritization and reallocation of resources.

Towards a new dawnProcesses of GB

Conceiving

Planning

Approving

Executing

Monitoring

Analysing & Auditing

How do you decide for a new scheme?

How do you plan? Plan Documents whether Gender SensitiveWho plans?Capacity to plan?Stakeholders ? At what level?What to plan?How is the Dt. Plan prepared?

Who approves?Whether they are Gender sensitive?What is approved?

Staff (M/F)ResourcesGuidelines

What to observe and check?How often?How to monitor?

Checking against what is planned

What is audited? Why?Who does the audit?What happens to the audit report?

Does it impact the planning process of your Dept.?

Towards a new dawn

Gender Budgeting can be taken up at various stages:

budget preparation, post – budget preparation, implementation and post-implementation.

Stages of Gender Budgeting

Towards a new dawnStages….GRB a continuous process continuous process and can be done

1. At the budget preparation stage1. At the budget preparation stage(a) Ensure financial appropriations made in budgets match the

needs

(b) Analyse budget estimates (B.E.) for the current year vis-a-vis revised estimates (R.E.) or actual expenditure (A.E.) of the previous year and ensure corrective steps are provided for sufficient and proper and full utilization of budgets of current year.

2. When the budget is tabled2. When the budget is tabled(a) Analyse sector wise or ministry/department wise shares of

allocations and expenditure (indicates government’s priorities.)(b) Analyse the revenue side too – what are the sources of revenue,

subsidies etc and how will they impact men and women)

Towards a new dawn

3. At the budget implementation stage3. At the budget implementation stage(a) Is the budget being spent in the way it was intended and to the full extent? (b) What are the delivery costs ? (c) Who is receiving subsidies? (d) Is the budget being spent for the purpose and the people for which/ whom it is intended?

4. At the post implementation stage4. At the post implementation stage(a) What have been the outcomes and impact of progs/projects and schemes and their related budgets?(b) Assess the impact - Have they met their objectives and purposes?

Towards a new dawn

HOW?HOW?

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Towards a new dawn

process product process product process product

policy formulation

policy statement

budget compilation budget

expenditure on activities outcomes

revenue collection

Analysis - From Policy to Outcomes

Policy appraisal

(Gender appraisal) Audit

(Gender Audit)Budget appraisal

(Gender budgeting)

Towards a new dawnEstablish Gender Budget Cellsas focal points to:– Guide their Departments in reviewing legislation, policies and

programmes for gender content.– Assess the situation of women and men and girls and boys in the

context of the services that they deliver– Initiate action to correct existing gender gaps.– Assess the adequacy of budgetary allocations for meeting gender

needs and correcting gender gaps.– Reprioritize budgetary allocation to address these gaps.– Ensure provisions for gender disaggregated data collection and

compilation.– Identify factors which prevent women from benefiting from the

programme/ scheme.

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1. What is the institutional mechanism for Gender Budgeting in your Department? When was it adopted as a budgetary strategy by your Department? Why?

2. What are the specific actions taken by the Dept/Gender Budget Cells to promote Gender Budgeting in the sector? (e.g., Programme/Projects engendered, legislations framed, new initiatives undertaken, collaboration with technical agency, if any)

3. What are the processes of gender mainstreaming that has been suggested/ adopted by the Gender Budget Cells to strengthen institutionalization of Gender Budgeting? (e.g., Reporting in Gender Budget Statement, Changes introduced in Monitoring Formats of existing schemes, Training, Institutionalizing Data Collection, Commissioning Research Studies, Gender Audit initiated)

4. Monitoring mechanism of the existing Institutional Mechanism by the concerned Department

5. What are the gender based outcomes achieved by your Department ? What are the Key Factors for achieving the outcomes ?

6. What are the Challenges faced by your Department/ GBC to institutionalize gender mainstreaming and gender budgetary processes.

7. Plans for Looking Ahead/Plans for Future (e.g., Annual Action Plans, pre and post budget consultations including various stakeholders etc.)

May start with answering the following:

Towards a new dawn

Through Gender AuditThe general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a

person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, quality management, water management, and energy conservation

The word ‘auditing’ has been derived from Latin word “audire” which means “to hear”

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audit

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Towards a new dawnGender Audit

• A tool to assess the extent of Gender mainstreaming accomplished – it helps to assess the differential impact of projects and policies on women and men.

• The basic assumption of gender audits is that public policy impacts differently on men and women. The purpose of gender audits is to lead to changes in public policy that contribute to an increase in gender equality.

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Towards a new dawnDimensions of Gender AuditProgrammatic DimensionsProgrammatic Dimensions Organisational DimensionsOrganisational Dimensions

1. Situational Analysis including participatory and conventional planning processes and Annual Plan Development

2. Policy Analysis including program design and scheme guidelines and framework of implementation

3. Budgetary Allocations & Expenditure4. Monitoring of Implementation

progress including physical achievements, beneficiary incidence, delivery mechanisms and partner organisations

5. Evaluation Procedures

1. Gender Policy & Staffing2. Capacity Building3. Management Information Systems4. Monitoring Systems (Outcome Budget

& RFD)5. Advocacy, marketing and

communications

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Towards a new dawn

What has worked for India?

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Towards a new dawn1. Structures and Mechanisms• Introduction of the GB Statement (Statement 20) in 2005-06

• Setting up of Gender Budgeting Cells (GBCs) across all Ministries and Departments - GBCs set up in 57 Ministries/ Department

• Gender Budgeting Charter Finance outlining the composition and functions of Gender Budgeting Cells issued in 2007

• Checklists prepared for gender-specific and so-called gender mainstream sector

• Integration of gender in the Outcome Budget Guidelines in 2005-06

• Integration of gender perspective at the design stage itself of all programs and schemes of Government of India through Expenditure Finance Committee Memorandum, Ministry of Finance

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Towards a new dawn1. Structures and Mechanisms

• Inclusion of a Gender Chapter as part of the Annual Report by Ministries/Departments

• Introduction of formats for preparing Annual Action Plans by Ministries/Departments

• Prepared and issued Guidelines for institutionalising GB across states

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Towards a new dawnMagnitude of Gender Budget

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42% tax devolution

to states

Towards a new dawn

• Presently GBS is just an budgetary adjustment after allocation and do not address the felt need of women

• Current GBS format do not capture gender responsive efforts which are non- budgetary such as providing maternity leave, flexi-timings, creating a sexual harassment committee etc.

• Schemes are reported in Part B (for < 100% allocations) - without any clarity on how the department estimated the % flowing to women

• There is no monitoring or audit mechanism for GBS

Limitations of GBS

Towards a new dawn2. Strengthening Capacities • Training of Government and other stakeholders

• Introduction of a Gender Budgeting Scheme in 2007-08 to support training and research, evaluation, impact assessment, gender audit. Intensive capacity building programmes across sectors

• Development of GB Handbook and Manual and wide dissemination

• Strengthening apex training institutes at the national and sub-national level to train civil servants and resource persons

• Engaging with Line Departments - One-to-one interactions with Ministries/ Departments

Towards a new dawn3. Gender Auditing

• Constituted a Working Group for developing Gender Audit guidelines

• Preparation of Gender Audit Guidelines

• Pilot testing of the Gender Audit Guideline

• Gender Audit in process by the Internal Audit Division of CGA, MOF in Six Ministries (pilot)

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Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of Home Affairs

• The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013, broadens the definition of sexual assault and harassment, provides for tougher jails terms for crimes against women, including the death penalty for extreme cases of rape. For the first time, newer forms of violence like stalking, voyeurism and acid attack have been recognized

• Steps taken to recruit women in the police force - 33% reservation has been made for women in the police force, in Bihar, Goa, Punjab, Kerala, Mizoram, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi

• New Initiative – Special Mahila Police Volunteers

Gender Mainstreaming

Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of Finance

• Government of India created the Nirbhaya Fund and designated the Ministry of Women and Child Development as the key Ministry for apprising proposals. As the starting point, Nirbhaya fund cuts across Ministries and Departments to frame and redesign their programmes based on safety audits to plug the gaps and prevent crime against women

• Scheme for promoting Women Self Help Groups in select districts of the country through identified NGOs/ other support organisations.

Monetary Policy 2011-12 - Extract of Para 100 100. With a view to further expanding the outreach of Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and opening an additional channel for promoting financial inclusion, which would also help the UCBs in achieving the sub-target of lending to weaker sections, it is proposed:

to permit UCBs to lend to SHGs/JLGs (Joint Liability Groups); and to keep lending to SHGs out of the norm on unsecured advances.

Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of Corporate Affairs

• Companies Act, 2013 of India, - mandatory inclusion of at least one woman director to the Board of every prescribed class of companies in India

• Schedule VII of the Act 2013 mentions - Promoting gender equality, empowering women as one its Corporate Social Responsibility activities wherein every company is mandatorily required to spend 2% of average net profits

Towards a new dawn

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Department of Food and Public Distribution

• National Food Security Act enacted on 10th September, 2013 provides that the eldest woman in the household, 18 years or above, in every eligible household, is the head of the household for the purpose of issue of ration cards.

• The NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements. 

• Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a nutritious free meal and a maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000/-

Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of WCD• Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 protects women against sexual harassment at all workplaces, be it public or private

• One-Stop Centres (OSCs) to provide medical, legal and psychological support services under one roof to women survivors of violence

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs Provides financial assistance to Indian women deserted by their overseas spouses for getting access to counseling and legal services. 84 women benefitted since 2007-08

Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship• National Policy on Skill Development 2015 advocates for

equal access to skill development for all social groups particularly women and disadvantaged section. It aims to raise women’s participation to at least 30% by taking proactive measures that overcome barriers and focusing on sectors that provide significant opportunities for women.

Ministry of Textiles • Integrated Textile Parks (ITP) of the Ministry of Textiles

aims at generating additional employment for women by providing common facilities like crèches, Working women hostel, canteen etc.

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Department of Telecommunications• Sanchar Shakti Scheme aims to use ICT to empower rural

women through provision of Mobile Value Added Services on issues of concern to women like health, social issues, and government schemes, and also livelihood related inputs and training over their mobile phones.

Department of Science & Technology • DST has also undertaken a number of interventions like

Fellowship Scheme for women scientists; creating a Women Scientist Cell; announcing annual National Awards for Women Scientists/biotechnologists; conducting National Training programme for women scientists and development of Women Biotechnology Parks.

Towards a new dawn

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Ministry of Shipping• Indian companies such as Shipping Corporation of India and

Great Eastern Shipping have started recruiting women officers on a large scale. The Government through Shipping Corporation of India has already provided for benefits such as discount on fees and a two-year relaxation on age limit to encourage women to become graduate marine engineer. The fee for training is approximately Rs.4, 00,000 for male candidates and 3.35 lakhs for female candidates. This has resulted in more women joining maritime courses. It is not just onboard that women have started making a mark. Related sectors such as port and logistics, too, are attracting women. Sitara Shipping, Sai Maritime and AS Moloobhoy & Sons are some companies that have seen increased participation of women in management activities. Companies like SCI, Great Eastern and Allcargo Logistics have also been recruiting women officers for various management jobs.

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1. Odisha (2004-05) – WCD Dept. 2. Tripura (2005-06) – Social Welfare & Social Education Dept3. Uttar Pradesh (2005) – Women & Child Welfare Dept4. Karnataka (2006-07) – Finance Dept. 5. Gujarat (2006-07) – Women and Child Dev. Dept6. Madhya Pradesh (2007-08) – Finance Dept. 7. Jammu & Kashmir (2007-08) – Social Welfare Dept.8. Arunachal Pradesh (2007-08) – Dept. Of Education 9. Chhattisgarh (2007-08) – WCD Dept10. Uttarakhand (2007-08) – Women Empowerment & Child Dev Dept.11. Himachal Pradesh (2007 -08) – Dept of SJ& Empowerment12. Bihar (2008-09) – Finance Dept. 13. Kerala (2008-09) – Social Welfare Dept14. Nagaland (2009) – Planning & Coordination Department15. Dadra and Nagar Haveli (2011-12) – Finance Dept. 16. Andaman & Nicobar Islands (November 2012) – Directorate of Social Welfare17. Rajasthan (August 2012-13) – Directorate of Social Welfare18. Maharashtra (January 2013) – WCD Dept. 19. Punjab (2015-16) – Directorate of WCD

Gender Budgeting in the States

Towards a new dawnSome Facts – Bihar • Literacy Rate – 61.80%

- 71.20% (M) 51.50% (F)• Sex Ratio 918 (919 in 2001), • CSR- 935 (942 in 2001)• Under 5 Mortality – 70 (2009) to 57 (2012)• MMR Bihar/Jharkhand – 261 (2007-09) to 219 (2010-12)• Female Work Participation Rate – 18.8 (2001) 19.1 (2011)

(lower employment opportunities)• Crime against women - 5,383 incidents of crime against

women reported to Bihar Police in 2014

Towards a new dawn

Some Facts – Bihar

Towards a new dawnStrengths

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• New State Policy with focus on addressing Gender Inequality• Bottom Up Approach – Power to Women - 50% Seats in PRIs

reserved for Women• Reservation in Police and Govt Jobs for Women• Designating GRC as the nodal Centre for Gender Budgeting• Adoption of a GB Statement in 2008-09 - Budget Cell in each

department is responsible for preparing GBS. The reports sent by the departments in the Proforma is collated by Finance department after due consultation.

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Year No of departments

Total Magnitude of Gender Budget (Rs. In lakhs)

Provision for women (% of Total Budget Provision)

Provision for Women (% of GSDP)

2008-09 10 224781.26 5.83 1.95

2009-10 12 335694.66 7.07 2.59

2010-11 13 465857.64 8.66 2.762011-12 16 608811.79 9.32 2.88

2012-13 16 783563.94 9.96 2.97

2013-14 16 960237.16 10.43 3.06

Gender Budgeting in Bihar

Towards a new dawn

But women in powerfulpositions are still an exception…

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Towards a new dawn

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Way Forward• Institutionalising GB at the State level and gender appraisal of the

State Plan – GRC to lead• GRC to lobby with select Depts for utilising the performance

information reflected in the Outcome Budget document for shaping Budget decisions - both in programme formulation and resource allocation, e.g VAW

• Constitution of GBCs in the state departments with detailed charter - GBCs to be held accountable for gender mainstreaming

• Building expertise of GBCs to undertake gender analysis of policies/schemes/ programmes

• Setting Up of Inter-Departmental Committee for monitoring with GRC as the Convenor

• Continued stress on Trainings - Develop a pool of Trainers and Institutes /Extension Training Centres to unpack budgetary information for taking forward the processes of GB

Towards a new dawnWay Forward• Reporting in the Gender Budget Statement & Effective

monitoring of the existing GB Statement• Taking GB to District, ULBs and PRIs – Organise Pre-Budget

Consultation (gender based planning) on select sectors with women’s groups, EWRs and link it with the Annual Budget making process for allocation

• Documentation, Dissemination and Sharing of best practices• Inclusion of Gender Audit in Performance Audit of the State

and Local Govt. Auditors • Bridging the data gaps in gender disaggregated data

particularly in the gender neutral sectors

Towards a new dawn

majumdarparamita@gmail.com