West Bengal introduces gender and child budget

In the budget for 2024-25 placed in the assembly on Thursday, the West Bengal government introduced a Gender and Child Budget with a view to uplifting the welfare of women and holistic development of children. Minister of State (independent charge) for Finance, Chandrima Bhattacharya, said that West Bengal’s cultural ethos reflects profound reverence for women and affection for children.

The state government has undertaken various initiatives to address the persistent challenges faced by women and children to create a safe and inclusive environment for their empowerment and development. The Gender and Child Budget was taken up to formalise the goals into fiscal commitments, translating into better results through continuance in policy and improved accountability, the minister said. The allocation for the gender budget for 2024-25 is Rs 21,380 crore under 100 per cent women specific schemes and Rs 74,891 crore for schemes with 30 per cent to 99 per cent dedicated to the development and empowerment of women, totalling Rs 96,271 crore for 2024-25.

The budget has been prepared by analysing the demands for grants of various departments specifically intended for expenditure relating to women and children, the minister said. Some of the existing schemes that seek to bring about the empowerment of women and children are Lakshmir Bhandar’, Kanyashree’ and Sishu Sathi’ among others.

While Lakshmir Bhandar’ and Kanyashree’ are financial assistance schemes for women and school girls respectively, children who need heart surgery are provided free treatment under Sishu Sathi’ scheme. The finance department of the state government works in tandem with UNICEF, women and child welfare department and others, she said.