Insights

Services provided under a range of important schemes pertaining to nutrition, health, food security etc. that are necessary for achieving improved nutrition outcomes, got severely impacted under the devastating effect of the pandemic. Bold measures are urgently needed in the upcoming Union Budget, 2021-22 for scaling up these programmes.

The devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on school-going children at one hand and the rolling out of National Education Policy 2020 on the other hand have made it amply clear that the education sector needs far more attention and priority in the upcoming Union Budget. This article highlights the areas which require adequate budgetary attention.

During the pandemic and economic crisis, women are facing greater unemployment, economic insecurity and gender-based violence. In 2021-22, the government must budget for greater coverage of critical services for women including employment guarantee under MGNERGS, maternity benefits under PMMVY, pensions under NSAP, and utilisation of Nirbhaya Fund to ensure safety and security of women.

Under the backdrop of the pandemic, budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene should be stressed on even more now than ever. Adequate budgets should be allocated towards sustainable water supply and soaps to be included in the Public Distribution System. Also, there should be a specific component in Budget 2021-22 for water facilities in anganwadis, schools and health centres.

Instead of a Covid cess, as proposed by many, higher tax rates on the super-rich whose incomes have been relatively less affected by the pandemic, might be a better solution for raising revenue. This would help generate more tax revenue as well as ensure that states get their due share of taxes.

Apart from efforts aimed at helping the agrarian economy recover from the pandemic, the Union government should accord higher budgetary expenditure on agricultural infrastructure. Provisioning for food security and strengthening public procurement of the produce are the need of the hour, especially when we are still far from the road to economic recovery.

Nirmala Sitharaman needs to announce bold measures for undertaking additional public spending on an urgent basis

हमें सबसे ज्यादा ध्यान सर्वाधिक प्रभावित महिलाओं और बच्चों पर केंद्रित करना होगा। उनके लिए आवंटन में बिल्कुल भी कमी नहीं की जानी चाहिए। लंबे समय तक इनकी रक्षा करना जरूरी है।आगामी बजट में इन पर विशेष ध्‍यान देने की जरूरत है।

School education in India has been severely affected by COVID-19. However, this impact is not equally distributed. Girls are more vulnerable than boys due to the numerous challenges they already faced, especially at the secondary level. This article briefly explores the different ways in which the pandemic impacts girls’ educational opportunities.

Persons with disabilities  are the  most neglected in the process of inclusive development. While budgetary interventions for this community is highly inadequate, governments’  recent proposals towards whittling down disability legislation might worsen the condition of the PWDs further.

The economic response to the Covid-19 crisis mostly relied on fiscal and monetary measures. However, progressive taxation and financial transparency measures have so far been neglected, and are equally important to address the inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.

The state of girls’ education in Rajasthan remains grim. COVID-19 has increased the probability of more girls dropping out, before they complete their secondary education. The article urges Rajasthan government to prioritise girls’ education and invest adequately to ensure universal access to secondary education for all girls.