Assess the efforts by state and union towards Gender Budgeting while throwing light on its benefits.

Model Answer:
Gender Budget Initiatives are attempts to disaggregate the government’s mainstream budget according to its impacts on women and men. The concept of gender budgeting is a nineties’ trend that has been introduced mostly in Commonwealth countries.
Australia was the first country to implement a women’s budget in 1984. Federal, state and territorial governments in Australia examined the impact of budgets on women and girls for 12 years until a change of government in 1996.
South Africa’s Women’s Budget Initiative was initiated in 1995 and involves NGOs, parliamentarians, and a wide range of researchers and advisors. Gender budget initiatives in Tanzania (1997) and Uganda (1999) examine the impacts of structural adjustment programs in these countries and specifically focus on education and health. In India the first Gender Budget Statement appeared in the Union Budget 2005-06 and included 10 demands for grants. However, in recent budgets the number of demands of grants have been as high as 36.Ten states in India have also introduced gender budgeting. In United Kingdom, the government announced that from 2003 onwards the new Child Tax Credit would be paid to women rather than to men. The slogan used for supporting the policy was “From the wallet to the purse”. Thus; we see that the Gender Budgeting Statement (GBS) has emerged as an important advocacy tool which reflects on the flow of funds for women and tries to curtail gender inequality. (225 words)

Topics: GS-III: Government Budgeting