Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s maiden Budget was keenly watched by India Inc and the common man as it was not only the first Budget of the Modi 2.0 government but also because she is the first full-time female finance minister of the country.

She is only the second woman in India’s history to present the Budget in the Lok Sabha, after prime minister Indira Gandhi, who briefly held the charge of the finance ministry. This is not the first time that she’s breaking the glass ceiling of the Indian legislature - she was only the second woman in India to lead the defence ministry in 2017.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s career milestones are noteworthy and there was a rightful expectation from her to give prominence to women’s rights and empowerment. Women’s empowerment was one of the key umbrellas under which policies and measures were announced, with an aim of increasing female participation in the Indian economy.

Fillip to female entrepreneurship

In her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman quoted Swami Vivekananda’s letter to Swami Ramakrishna, in which he had said: “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved.” She went on to announce that every verified member of a self-help group (SHG) possessing a Jan Dhan bank account will be allowed an overdraft of Rs 5,000, and at least one woman per SHG would be eligible for a loan of up to Rs 1 lakh under the MUDRA scheme. An important point to note is that 70 per cent of beneficiaries under the MUDRA scheme are women. Hence, it is a pertinent move to encourage female entrepreneurs to come forward and fulfil their dreams.

The Budget also announced that working women’s hostels will get a twofold hike at Rs 165 crore. The allocation under the Mission for Protection and Empowerment of Women was increased from Rs 1,148 crore to Rs 1,315 crore. These measures were much needed, giving due credit and support to female-led initiatives and startups, thereby setting a level playing field for female entrepreneurs.

Ensuring women’s welfare

The Integrated Child Development Services saw a 17.7 per cent increase in its budgetary allocation, from Rs 23,357 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 27,584 crore in 2019-20. Anganwadi services have seen an 11 per cent hike in their grant to Rs 19,834 crore. In addition, Rs 500 crore has been set aside for the Nirbhaya Fund as part of the scheme to enhance women’s safety. The total amount allocated for the social services sector has been enhanced from Rs 2,551 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 4,178 crore in 2019-20. Furthermore, a committee will be set up to improve women’s welfare in rural India.

In the Interim Budget presented by Piyush Goyal earlier this year, it was announced that the maternity leave of 26 weeks and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) have been a big hit among the beneficiaries. The allocation for PMMVY was more than doubled to Rs 2,500 crore from Rs 1,200 crore. Under the programme, Rs 6,000 is given to pregnant women and lactating mothers for the birth and nourishment of the first surviving child.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao got Rs 280 crore in the current financial year, and the allocation for Mahila Shakti Kendras has been increased from Rs 115 crore to Rs 150 crore.

The finance minister stated that budgetary allocation through a gender lens has been in place for over a decade now. However, more action-oriented measures are needed to provide the necessary fillip to women.

Two key initiatives

The NDA government has undertaken two key initiatives - Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana - that have played an important role in uplifting the lives of women, making their daily lives easier. Access to clean cooking gas to households is yet another forward-looking step undertaken by the government, resulting in more than 7 crore new LPG connections.

In the Budget, the finance minister has proposed to form a broad-based committee with government and private stakeholders to evaluate and suggest action for moving forward. She promised that by 2022 - India’s 75th year of independence - every rural family will have electricity and clean cooking facility.

While the finance minister has the right intentions, with her heart in the right place, there’s still enough scope for improvement in terms of budgeting for women and children, better utilisation of the funds allocated, focusing on women’s health care, encouraging more female workforce participation and prioritisation of women’s welfare and empowerment schemes by state governments.

During the 2019 general election, the BJP had promised in its manifesto (the word ‘women’ appeared 37 times in the 48-page manifesto) to provide collateral-free credit of up to Rs 50 lakh to entrepreneurs, out of which women are guaranteed 50 per cent of the loans. We need to wait and watch if it is implemented in an appropriate manner.

The government needs to walk the talk on the aforesaid matters.

Sayan Banerjee is a marketing and communications professional. The views expressed here are personal.