Gender Responsive Budgeting in India

Abstract

The budget represents the financial plan and hence is the most significant policy instrument of the government for establishing macro-economic stability, fiscal efficiency, strategic priority, and more importantly, for ensuring the equitable distribution of national resources. Gender responsive participatory budgeting (GRPB) is a means of integrating a gender dimension into all steps of the budget process that includes participatory decision making and transparency in raising financial resources and their expenditure. It is about considering the different needs and priorities of both women, men, and sexual minorities without gender exclusivity. Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) ensures that budgets are gender-sensitive and not gender neutral, which means that they are geared towards establishing gender equality and are sensitive to intersectionality of gender with class, caste, race, religion, ethnicity, and geographical location. GRB consists of the use of tools to analyze the gender dimensions of budgets; adoption of procedures to ensure that the budget supports the achievement of gender equality; and implementation mechanisms for effective and efficient utilisation of allocated funds, functions, and functionaries.