Budget 2021-22 deals a raw deal for social sector

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  Budget 2021-22 deals a raw deal for social sector

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1. Distress rising: Against a background of rising distress among weaker sections of the population due to the pandemic, allocations for social sector spending in the Union Budget 2021-22 are a mixed bag. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment received an allocation of Rs 10,516 crore, an enhancement of just Rs 414 crore. There was a 4 percent drop in allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs at Rs 4,810 crore (earlier Rs.5,029 crore).
2. Rise: Allocations for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs saw a 37 percent increase over the revised estimates for 2020-21, at Rs. 7,525 crore (Rs.7,411 cr for 2020-21).
3. Post Matric Scholarship Scheme: Govt. has revamped the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for the welfare of Scheduled Castes. It has enhanced the Central Assistance in this regard by allotting Rs.35,219 crores for 6 years till 2025-2026, to benefit 4 crores SC students.
4. Women: The Ministry of  Women and Child Development was allocated Rs. 24,435 crore for 2021-22, a sharp cut of Rs. 5,572 from its outlay in Budget 2020-21. (Rs.30,000 crore for 2020-21). This Ministry is the primary body for  the effective implementation of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in India. India was ranked 112th of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2020. Gender Budgeting (GB) was introduced in the Union Budget of 2005-06.
5. Garib Kalyan: In March ’20, the Union government had announced a Rs 1.7-lakh-crore relief package under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana  to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the poor to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Unveiling the scheme, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said 80 crore poor people would be covered by way of cash transfers and food security. Each person would be given 5 kg of wheat or rice for free every month for the next three months. Besides, one kg of preferred and region-specific choice of a pulse will also be given. Further, the scheme also focused on giving cash transfers to different sections of society directly into their bank accounts. It covered farmers, workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), widow pensioners, disabled, women with Jan Dhan accounts, women running self-help groups, beneficiaries of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and construction workers.
6. Rozgar: Later, in  June 2020, the PM launched the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan to provide gainful employment to migrant workers who had lost jobs as a result of the pandemic. The employment scheme was announced  with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore, covering 116 districts in six states.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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