Regarding the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1st, at 11 a.m., there are great hopes that an effective gender-centric approach will be implemented. This is because this is the election year.

In its most basic form, gender budgeting is a technique that focuses on how public resources are gathered and spent to establish equality between men and women.

As Prime Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the Interim Budget 2024, the entire nation will be keeping a close eye on the government’s measures to guarantee that women are treated as equal stakeholders in India’s growth story.

This is what women may anticipate from the budget for the year 2024.

Lakhpati Didi Scheme

FM Sitharaman announced that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will boost the target number of women who will benefit from the Lakhpati Didi Scheme to three crore women.

During the interim budget for the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2024, Sitharaman stated that 83 lakh Self-Help groups, which are nine crore women, are reshaping the socio-economic landscape of rural areas. These groups have already supported nearly one crore women in becoming Lakhpati didis.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

In addition, Sitharaman detailed the prior initiatives that the Modi government has undertaken for women while simultaneously praising the participation of Indian women in the workforce and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) -)-related fields of study.

Over the past decade, there has been a 28% increase in the number of women enrolling in higher education. In STEM courses, girls and women make up 43% of the enrollment, which is one of the highest percentages in the world.

The growing number of women actively participating in the labour force is a direct result of all of these efforts. By making triple talaq illegal, reserving one-third of seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women, and providing more than 70% of dwellings to women through the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana, the Minister of Finance stated that women’s dignity has been increased.

Empowering Young Women with Cervical Cancer

The Minister of Finance announced that the government would support vaccinations against cervical cancer for young women between the ages of 9 and 14.

She stated, “Our government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for the purpose of providing prevention of cervical cancer.”

Earlier, researchers hit a dead end in their studies on HPV vaccinations (human papillomaviruses) aimed at preventing cervical cancer. Controversy surrounded the trials in 2010 as reports emerged of girls dying after receiving an HPV vaccination.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer in women worldwide, behind breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer, respectively.

Comprehensive Medical Coverage for ASHA Employees

In addition, the government has made it possible for all ASHA employees to receive medical coverage through the Ayushman Bharat programme. She stated that all employees and assistants of ASHA and Anganwadi will receive health coverage under the Ayushman Bharat initiative.

Economic Women Empowerment

The budget, that was presented before this one, Sitharaman placed a strong emphasis on the economic empowerment of women. She envisioned the transformation of self-help groups (SHGs) into viable income-generating producer organisations and sustainable women’s businesses.

As with many unicorn startups, the budget announced support for raw material supply, product design, quality, branding, and marketing. This will enable them to scale up their operations to service vast consumer markets.

As more women entered the workforce, there was excitement about addressing their biggest challenges. The second quarter of fiscal year 24 saw the female labour market participation rate rise to 24%, indicating a positive trend.

Mahila Samman Saving Certificate

A ‘Mahila Samman Saving Certificate’ was announced in Sitharaman’s 2023 budget. This certificate would have a set interest rate of 7.5% for two years. One option for making the deposit is to do it in the name of a female or girl child. This savings scheme allowed for partial withdrawals in addition to having a maximum deposit amount of 2 lakh rupees, which was maintained at that level.

It was anticipated that the budget would address gender parity and implement programmes that would work to improve the lives of women in India.

This is to cater to the needs of women in the Bharat Kaal.

Let’s take it as a sign, as Sitharaman stated in her interim Budget 2024 speech, “We need to focus on – Garib, Mahilayen, Yuva, and Annadata; their needs and aspirations are our highest priorities.”