UPSC Mains 2016 GS Paper 3 Q2: model answer

Since 2005–06 the Union Budget has carried a Gender Budget Statement. In 2026–27 it shows ₹5.01 lakh crore (9.37% of spending) for women, up from ₹4.49 lakh crore in 2025–26. A budget is never gender-neutral. A bus route, a toilet or a credit scheme affects women and men differently, and gender budgeting asks the budget to count that difference.

Requirements

• Gender-disaggregated data for every scheme and every beneficiary.
• Gender budget cells in every ministry (mandated in 2007).
• Analysis at each stage: planning, allocation, spending and outcome audit.
• Outcome indicators, not only money spent: women's workforce participation, maternal deaths, asset ownership.
• Participation of women's groups and panchayats in deciding priorities.

Status in India

• Part A: schemes 100% for women, such as PM Matru Vandana Yojana and Mission Shakti.
• Part B: schemes with 30–99% for women, such as MGNREGA and PMAY-G.
• States: Kerala, Odisha and Karnataka publish gender budgets; many states do not.

Gaps

• Part B inflation: large schemes are counted with assumed shares, not measured ones.
• No outcome audit: money is tracked, results are not.
• Small share: under one-tenth of spending, though women are about half the population.
• Low female labour force participation shows the gap between allocation and empowerment.

Way forward

Bring gender budgeting under the outcome budget, audit it through the CAG, and train panchayats in gender-responsive planning.

Empowerment begins when women are counted in the budget, not merely mentioned in it.