Context and Core Argument
- Budget 2026–27 is expected to address women’s time poverty, a structural constraint limiting female labour force participation, productivity, and equitable inclusion in India’s growth trajectory.
- Gender inequality persists not due to lower female contribution, but because unpaid care work and mobility constraints restrict women’s access to paid employment and skills.
Relevance
- GS Paper 1 (Indian Society):
Gender inequality, women’s work, unpaid care economy, demographic dividend, social justice. - GS Paper 2 (Governance & Social Justice):
Gender budgeting, public policy design, welfare schemes, inclusive governance. - GS Paper 3 (Economy):
Labour force participation, MSMEs, skilling, employment generation, care economy as economic investment.
Data Snapshot: Women, Work, and Time Poverty
Labour Force Participation and Unpaid Work
- Nearly 60% of women remain outside the labour force, despite forming a large share of agricultural and informal workers.
- Time Use Survey shows women’s unpaid domestic work rose from 364 minutes/day (2019) to 366 minutes/day (2024).
- Women’s paid work time increased marginally from 68 to 76 minutes/day, indicating persistent imbalance.
Structural Causes of Women’s Time Poverty
Care Burden and Mobility Constraints
- Childcare, eldercare, and domestic responsibilities disproportionately fall on women, limiting time for paid work or skilling.
- Poor access to safe transport, sanitation, drinking water, and energy increases daily time spent on basic survival tasks.
Gender Budgeting: Concept and Limits
Gender Budget as an Enabling Tool
- Gender budgeting is not welfare spending but a public finance instrument to redistribute time, opportunity, and outcomes.
- India’s gender budget has expanded to 8.9% of total Union Budget (2024–25), highest so far.
Quality vs Quantity Problem
- Nearly 75% of allocations fall under Part B (30–99% women beneficiaries), diluting targeted impact.
- Many schemes are re-labelled as “gender-responsive” without addressing women-specific barriers.
Reimagining Schemes Through a Time-Use Lens
Infrastructure that Saves Women’s Time
- Investments in piped drinking water, sanitation, electricity, clean cooking energy, and rooftop solar reduce unpaid labour.
- Convergence across Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala, and rooftop solar is critical for time savings.
Care Economy and Social Infrastructure
Strengthening Childcare and Nutrition Systems
- Anganwadis, creches, and POSHAN schemes suffer from infrastructure gaps and fragmented implementation.
- Expanding care infrastructure converts unpaid care into social responsibility, freeing women’s productive time.
Employment-Centric Gender Budgeting
Linking Budget to Job Creation
- Employment-linked incentive schemes should set explicit targets—at least 50% of new jobs for women.
- Subsidies for enterprises hiring women should be coupled with social security and childcare support.
Rural Women and MGNREGA Reforms
Enhancing Workdays and Care Integration
- MGNREGA employs a high share of women but remains capped at 100 days in most cases.
- Proposal to expand to 125 days, with on-site childcare, addresses both income and care constraints.
Women Entrepreneurship and MSMEs
Credit, Scale, and Market Access
- Women own nearly 60% of MSMEs, yet most are informal, micro-scale, and under-capitalised.
- Only 9% of MSME credit flows to women-owned enterprises.
- Simplified credit access, market linkage, and transition support are required for scale.
Skills for a Digital and AI Economy
Gendered Skilling Priorities
- Budget must prepare women for AI, digital platforms, and emerging sectors, not only traditional livelihoods.
- Allocation of ₹660 crore for gender support under the IndiaAI Mission (2025–26) signals intent.
- Success depends on outcome-based metrics, not enrolment numbers alone.
Governance and Accountability Gaps
- Gender budgeting often measures money spent, not time saved, income gained, or agency enhanced.
- Lack of disaggregated outcome tracking weakens accountability across ministries.
Way Forward: Budget 2026–27 Priorities
- Shift from women-centric spending to women-centric outcomes, especially time release and labour participation.
- Institutionalise Time Use Surveys in budget planning and scheme design.
- Expand care infrastructure as economic investment, not social expenditure.
- Align gender budgeting with employment, skilling, and digital transformation strategies.
