Budget 2025: Gender budget receives another fillip, accounts for 9 percent of total spend

The concept of gender budgeting was introduced in 2005-06

The government has allocated Rs 4.5 lakh crore towards gender budgeting for the fiscal 2026, accounting for around 8.9 percent of the budgetary expenditure, highlighting continued commitment to advancing gender equality through targeted financial outlays.

The allocation in the Union Budget 2025 reflects a significant increase compared to historical trends, showcasing a stronger emphasis on addressing gender disparities.

In the current fiscal, the spend on gender budgeting stood at 3.76 lakh crore.

The share of gender budget in the Union Budget increased to 6.5 percent in 2024-25 from 5 percent a year ago.

In 2014, the gender budget accounted for just 4.5 percent of total spending.

The concept of gender budgeting, introduced in 2005-06, has maintained an average share of 5 percent of total budgetary allocations over the years. It comprises schemes that either allocate their entire funds to women-specific programmes or direct at least 30 percent of their expenditure toward women’s welfare.

The gender budget has three categories. Part A consists of schemes exclusively for women, while Part B includes programmes where a minimum of 30 percent of funds are allocated to women’s welfare. Part C, a category introduced in 2024-25, includes schemes where less than 30 percent of the funds are directed towards women initiatives.

In the current fiscal, the rural development ministry accounted for the largest share of Part A allocations at 63.7 percent, followed by the housing and urban affairs ministry at 23.3 percent, and petroleum and natural gas ministry at 8.1 percent.

These three ministries together constitute over 95 percent of the budgeted expenditure under Part A, a Reserve Bank of India report has said.

The continued expansion of gender-specific allocations is important to address structural inequities and empower women across various sectors. These allocations translate into tangible benefits and contribute to improving the socio-economic status of women across the country.