Budget 2017: Jaitley announces increased funds for women and children programmes

Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a major step up in allocation for these two constituents in the 2017 budget.

Women and children welfare continues to be a key thrust area of the Narendra Modi government.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a major step up in allocation for these two constituents in the 2017 budget.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a major step up in allocation for these two constituents in the 2017 budget.

An allocation of Rs 1.86 lakh crore has been made for various schemes for women and children across ministries as compared to Rs 1.56 lakh crore in last fiscal.

Highlights

Government’s maternity benefit programme goes up to Rs 21,000 crore from last fiscal year’s Rs 400 crore

Government boosts funding for nutrition program for children under six to Rs 15,245 crore

Pregnant women and lactating mothers got a substantial financial assistance in the budget. The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), the Centre’s key maternity benefit program targeted at pregnant and lactating mothers, the allocation has gone up from Rs 400 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 21,000 crore in the new fiscal.

The leg up to the maternity benefit scheme follows the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31 to transfer Rs 6,000 crore to the bank accounts of pregnant women across 650 districts of India.

The government’s supplementary nutrition program for children under six also got a boost with an allocation of Rs 15, 245 crore.

For more updates on the Union budget 2017, click here