‘Women centric schemes laudable, but would have to wait for its implementation’
More than ₹3 lakh crore allocated for schemes benefitting women and girls for promoting women-led development.
Finance Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25, allocating more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls for promoting women-led development, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, and added that the budgetary allocation is the government’s commitment to enhance women‘s role in economic development.
Presenting her seventh consecutive union budget, she said that ‘Mahilayen’ (women) are one of the four focus areas of the ‘Modi 3.0’ government.
Lauding the setting up of creches and hostels for working women, Sanjana Sharma, a law graduate from Ludhiana, said, “Even today, women are expected to quit their jobs after giving birth and men are not. The establishment of creches by the government would at least motivate women and their families to continue working. We can also expect the hostels established by the government to be much safer than the private ones, and it would surely boost the participation of women in the workforce.”
Commenting on the initiatives, Priya Arora Vig, a professor at the Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT), said, “The challenge for women in corporate sector remains the same as the initiatives are still on paper and nothing could be said until implemented in a rightful manner. Hostels could be built but their upkeep would decide whether they would be preferred over paying guest facilities or not.” On the abolition of angel tax, she remarked, “This could benefit women entrepreneurs as investors till date are dicey about investing in a business led by women, so this step could lead to a growth in the Indian Startup ecosystem.”
Parul, an economics professor at Arya College lauded Mission Shakti and said, “ ₹ 629 crores have been allocated for SAMBAL which includes Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and focuses on women safety and not just empowerment. Budget announcements are in the right direction, but the motive of viksit bharat will come through with the implementation of these initiatives.”
Shingora Shawls founder Mridula Jain said that skilling programmes are much needed in the state. “Nowadays, it is a hectic task to find skilled labourers. Women-specific skilling programmes would increase the participation of women in the industry. Rest, we would have to wait till their implementation to see whether they are just ‘vote bank’ initiatives or people centric initiatives,” she added.