The increase of Rs 28,104 crore in the total allocation towards women and children under different ministries is a positive step in the Union Budget, but it could have been more, said NGO Save the Children’s CEO Thomas Chandy.
There remains an urgent need to maintain sharp focus on the rights of more than 40 crore children in India and to monitor the effective implementation of various schemes and policies, he said.
Notably, this year’s allocation has been raised to Rs 1,84,632 crore from Rs 1,56,528 crore. Out of this Rs 1,84,632 crore, children’s share is Rs 71,305 crore as compared to Rs 66,249 crore last year. The percentage growth in the total Union Budget compared to last year is 8.5 per cent. Therefore, the budget for children’s growth of 7.6 per cent as compared to last year is a much-needed correction in terms of fiscal allocation for the welfare of children, he said further.
The increase of 25 per cent in ICDS allocation shows Government’s focus on fighting malnutrition. However, the smoothness of funds flow to the States for its efficient function will need to be monitored, he maintained.
Child protection remains an area of major concern. Raising the allocation for ICPS by only Rs 50 crore, the Government has allocated Rs 650 crore this year. This is a pittance since there are more than 600 districts in the country, thus, in real terms this will mean Rs 1 crore has been allocated per district. However, since crimes are not distributed equally across these 618 districts, this amount is negligible to stem the increasing number of crimes against children.
It is also disappointing that the Government has not increased allocations for ICPS while opening up new categories for child labour under the new Child labour Act. The new Juvenile Justice Act also needed extra funds but this has not been accommodated in the Budget, a Save the Children release said.
It also lamented that the RTE Act was not mentioned even once in the Budget speech of the FM. The 23 per cent increase in funds dedicated for training of teachers is a welcome step, it added.
The National Health Mission received an increase of 20 per cent in allocations as compared to last year. This is in line with civil society’s recommendations to raise investments in basic health services. The Government’s seriousness is also reflected in the significant increase towards employing more trained health professionals by increasing the budget for this by 168 per cent.
Kala Azar has been a killer of children for centuries and so has been measles and tuberculosis. The Government’s ambition to eliminate these diseases by 2017, 2020, and 2025 respectively is a welcome step.