Analysis of Union Budget, 2023–24
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Highlights
This budget brief provides an analysis of the Government of India’s Union Budget estimates for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023/24. The brief is based on the annual budget of the Union Government of India which was placed in Parliament on 1 February 2023. The analysis gives particular emphasis to elements of the budget which affect the enjoyment of women and child rights.
Key Highlights of Union Budget 2023–24
Empowerment and Welfare of Women: The budget launches a new small savings scheme for women Mahila Samman Bachat Patra, offering a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent for a two-year period up to March 2025. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna-National Rural Livelihoods. Mission (DAY-NRLM) has mobilized rural women into 81 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs), which will allow members to reach the next stage of economic empowerment through the formation of large producer enterprises.
Spending on Women and Children: Contrasting expenditure trends for child and gender budgets, where spending on children as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is declining against the increase in spending on women, poses a serious fiscal concern. This is mainly an effect of a decline in total expenditure (as a percentage of GDP).
Food Security and Nutrition: From 1 January 2023, the Government is implementing the Muft Khadyanna Yojana scheme to supply free food grain to all Antyodaya Anna Yojana” (AAY) and priority households for the next one year, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme which supplies free food grains to migrants and the poor.
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