Maharashtra gender budget paints bleak picture for women

As many as 48 per cent women in Maharashtra are anemic, the percentage of child marriages stood at 26.3 per cent while teen pregnancies were at 8 per cent, the gender budget of the state tabled in the Legislative Council on Saturday revealed.

It was the first time the state government released a gender budget statement, which also had details of fund allocation for various projects concerning women and child development.

The Maharashtra government presented its maiden gender budget statement revealing expenditure for women at Rs 7,379 crore, which is 1.82 per cent of the total budget outlay of Rs 4,04,385 crore.

Out of Rs 7,379 crore budget estimate, a sum of Rs 2,613 crore will be directly for projects concerning women, while Rs 4,766 crore would be for schemes that would benefit them indirectly.

The statement disclosed that crimes against women were steadily increasing, while, as per the National Crime Record Bureau, Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of missing women complaints in the country.

"In the calendar year 2016, 28,316 women went missing. The figures increased to 29,279 in 2017 and 33,964 in 2018," said the report.

Quoting a 2018 McKinsey Global Institute report on 'Advancing Women's Equality in the Asia Pacific', the statement said, "Participation of women at professional and technical jobs in the state is at 46 per 100 men. The financial inclusion of women stands at 47 women per 100 men."

A sum of Rs 70,591 crore will be for children related schemes, which is 17.46 per cent of the budget outlay of Rs 4,04,385 crore.