Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her budget presentation in Parliament on Tuesday, emphasized initiatives to bolster women’s participation in the workforce. She announced the allocation of ₹3 trillion for schemes benefiting women and girls, affirming the government’s commitment to comprehensive development, particularly for farmers, youth, women, and the underprivileged.
“To promote higher workforce participation among women, we will collaborate with industries to establish working women’s hostels and creches,” Sitharaman stated. She also highlighted plans to forge partnerships aimed at organizing skilling programmes tailored for women in India.
“The budget allocates over ₹3 lakh crore for initiatives benefiting women and girls, underscoring our dedication to enhancing their role in economic development,” she emphasized.
Earlier this year, the central government launched inter-ministerial efforts to enhance female workforce participation. These efforts included advisory measures for employers to enforce statutory provisions, the release of national minimum standards and protocols for creches, focus on expanding working women’s hostels, and a public survey on workplace facilities for women.
According to the budget document, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has received a marginal increase in allocation, with the budget outlay rising to ₹26,092.19 crore from ₹25,448.68 crore in the revised estimates for 2023-24. The SAMARTHYA sub-scheme, which supports projects like women’s hostels, Swadhar Greh, and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, has been allocated ₹2,516 crore, a slight increase from the previous year’s revised budget of ₹2,325 crore.
The budget document also highlights that a significant portion of the WCD ministry’s budget is directed towards centrally sponsored schemes, receiving ₹25,848 crore.
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