Budget 2024: Boost to women-centric subsidies, health initiatives expected

Full Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team may bring in several measures centred around women in the upcoming full Budget to be presented next month. The government may increase subsidies and bring in measures to control the prices of essential goods.

The government may introduce additional measures for ongoing initiatives, such as Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) for cooking gas and other essential schemes, that are expected to minimise their financial burdens, a report in the Financial Express stated. 

Additionally, there is an expectation of increased funding for public hospitals and the provision of free or subsidised health check-ups to improve healthcare services for women.

In the Interim Budget presented in February, Finance Minister Sitharaman announced some important developments that have empowered women in recent years.  

During the budget speech, Sitharaman said: “Empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living and dignity has gained momentum in the last 10 years. Thirty crore MUDRA Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.”  

Furthermore, 83 lakh self-help groups (SHG) are working towards transforming one crore women into Lakhpati Didis, emphasising the empowerment of women through these initiatives.

The government stated that more than 70% of rural homes under the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) were allocated to women, either individually or jointly. This highlights a substantial increase in female participation in the workforce through different entrepreneurship initiatives.

Budget 2023

In Budget 2023, FM Sitharaman highlighted the success of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission that mobilised rural women into 81 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs). 

FM Sitharaman emphasized the need to propel these groups toward the next level of empowerment by establishing larger producer enterprises or collectives, each comprising several thousand members. They will receive support in the form of raw materials, improved design, quality, branding, and marketing for their products.

The budget allocated over Rs 2.25 lakh crore to support small farmers through the Pradhan Mantri Kisam Samman Nidhi, aiding around three crore female farmers.

To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the government launched a new one-time small savings scheme has been launched, which will be made available for a period of two years up to March 2025. The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate offers a deposit facility of two lakhs—made either in the name of a woman or girl—for a tenure of two years at a fixed rate of interest of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.

The allocation of funds to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) also saw a notable increase. The budget for the ministry has risen by Rs 267 crore, climbing from Rs 25,172.28 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 25,448.75 crore in 2023-24, reflecting a 1.08% increment.