Union Budget 2024-25: Boosting Women's Economic Role

The Union Budget 2024-25, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commits over Rs 3 lakh crore to women's schemes. Key highlights include working women hostels, creches, and women-specific skilling programs. Finance comes from multiple sectors, with significant allocations to public sectors and substantial interest payments.

The Union Budget 2024-25, unveiled in Parliament today by Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, underscores the government's dedication to enhancing women's participation in economic development. With an allocation exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore for women's and girls' schemes, the move aims to foster women-led development.

The Finance Minister recalled the emphasis on 'Mahilayen' (Women) from the Interim Budget, a focus area alongside 'Garib' (Poor), 'Yuva' (Youth), and 'Annadata' (Farmer). She reiterated the government's resolve to ensure that all Indians, irrespective of religion, caste, gender, and age, achieve substantial progress towards their life goals. The budget proposes initiatives like working women hostels in collaboration with industry and the establishment of creches to boost women's workforce participation.

Additional measures include women-specific skill development programs and market access promotion for women Self-Help Group (SHG) enterprises, Sitharaman announced. The budget outlines a detailed view of government revenues and expenditures. Revenues are derived from various sources: income tax (19%), borrowings and liabilities (27% - the largest), and GST/other taxes (18%). On the expenditure front, significant allocations include interest payments (19%), central sector schemes (16%), social sector spending, and defense expenditures.