The Budget allocated for the Ministry of Women and Child Development shrank to 0.7% of the Budget announced on Monday, according to leading economists.
The Ministry received Rs. 24,430 crore for fiscal 2022, which was 7% of the Budget.
In last year’s announcement, it received Rs. 30,007 crore, which was 98% of the Budget.
Several schemes under the Ministry have been re-grouped and renamed, such as Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 for nutrition programmes, Mission SHAKTI for schemes on women empowerment and Mission Vatsalya for schemes on protection of children.
Anganwadi services have been clubbed with other schemes under Saksham yet the Saksham budget in 2021-22 of Rs. 20,105 crore is less than the anganwadi budget in 2020-21 of Rs. 20,532 crore.
Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) has now been clubbed with other schemes under Samarthya, yet the allocation in 2021-22 is similar to the allocation for PMMVY alone in 2020-21.