The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) finds the Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister today as an insult to the working poor and women of this country who have been bearing a disproportionate burden of the hardships due to demonetization.
The Budget presented by the Finance Minister today starts with an assumption of 11.75% growth in GDP for 2017-18 calculated over the revised figures of 2016-17. The major event between the timing of revised estimates and the present budget has been the brutal shock of demonetization. The government’s own Economic Survey released yesterday acknowledges the adverse effects of demonetization on the economy. The Finance Minister in his speech also paid lip service to the adversities faced by common people which he insensitively called ‘short term costs’ . Yet none of this is reflected in the GDP estimates assumed in the budget. Instead of estimating the degree of the slowdown, its sectoral spread, the nature of its effects on different sections of the population and the length of time for which these effects are likely be felt, the government has pretended that demonetization has not happened in the actual assumptions of its GDP estimates. Moreover, based on these inflated GDP estimates, the size of the budget as a proportion of GDP has declined from 13.4% in 2015-16 to 12.7% in 2017-18 budget estimates. This will severely affect the lives and livelihoods of the majority of the people and especially women who have once again been short-changed by this government.
The finance minister projected his budget as a pro-poor and pro-farmer budget. However the allocation to central sector schemes and projects under the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare has been cut by 11.5 percent. The tall claims of the Finance Minister - that his aim is to double the incomes of farmers, are not reflected in his allocations. He also stated that the allied sector of dairy development and fisheries (which provides livelihood to a lot of women) would receive a major boost through an increased allocation of Rs. 8000 crore. However, there is no women specific allocation in either dairy or fisheries. Further, the only agricultural scheme that has allocations for women in the agricultural sector is the National Food Security Mission where a nominal increase of Rs. 60 crore has been made in the gender budget, which actually accounts for less than 30 percent of the entire allocation. This does not even qualify to be in Part B of the gender budget and yet it has been listed there. Given the fact that majority of women are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, the dismal allocations and absolute cut of 50% in the Mudra and other credit guarantee schemes show the absolute callousness towards women and to agriculture which is a continuing feature of this government’s policies.
The Finance Minister’s claim that MNREGA has been allocated a huge sum of Rs 48000 crore is yet another example of dressing down of facts. In 2015-16, MNREGA already had an allocation of Rs 47499 crores in the revised estimates. Thus the allocation of Rs 48000 crore does not entail any substantial increase. This freezing of allocation to MNREGA in this period of adverse impact on employment due to demonetization is a gross anti-poor measure. The long-standing need for an urban employment guarantee Act finds no mention in this government’s priorities even as it records increasing migration.
Food (including the allocations under the National Food Security Act), kerosene and LPG subsidies have a direct impact on women. The share of these in the total budget has come down from 9.5% in 2015-16 to 7.9% in 2017-18. Moreover, there is no gender budget component in any of these except the LPG subsidy which is a miniscule Rs 3200 crore.
There is no recognition of the problems of Anganwadi workers by this government. The allocation to Anganwadis does not even compensate for the cuts since 2015-16 and in real terms shows a decrease. Anganwadi workers’ right to regular payment of wages will be further affected by this allocation. Similarly, the interests of the ASHA workers and all scheme workers have been compromised in keeping with this government’s anti-woman stance.
The increased allocation of Rs 2700 crore for maternity benefits comes as a cash transfer scheme on the condition of institutional deliveries. The government remains unresponsive to the evidence of problems with cash transfers that has been brought to its notice repeatedly.
AIDWA expresses grave concern that this Government has completely failed to respond on the issue of rising violence against women, and the need to ensure budgetary support for survivors of violent crimes. This can be seen in the atrocious cut in the allocation of resources for the Nirbhaya fund. The revised estimate for the Nirbhaya fund in 2016-17 was Rs 585 crore and this has been now cut to Rs 400 crore. Several of the suggestions submitted by the national women’s organizations in this context have been completely ignored by the Finance Minister.
Overall, the budget shows a total callousness and ignores the sufferings of women particularly of the working class who have suffered enormously due to demonetization which has come amidst a protracted crisis within the economy and particularly the agricultural sector. The government has used the doing away of the distinction between ‘Plan’ and ‘Non-Plan’ expenditures to conflate and confuse ordinary people and hide the massive cuts in social and economic welfare. The freezing of inadequate allocations in real terms to education and health will hit the working poor and women even further. The surrender of goals like the alleviation of poverty, focusing on the special needs of women, dalits, tribals and other deprived sections of society through the allocation of budgetary resources for them in favour of tax cuts for the corporate and the elite classes exposes the real anti-people agenda of the government.
The AIDWA calls upon all women to raise their voice to press the government to make the budget more women-friendly.
Malini Bhattacharya Mariam Dhawale
(President) (General Secretary)
