Budget of promise or missed opportunity (2009-10)

('the hindu' july 9 09)

The debut budget of the UPA government in its second innings is a mixed bag of hope, ambiguous promise and some disappointment. The government’s commitment to inclusive growth continues and is reflected in the big increase in social sector spending. This is indeed laudable. However, the outlay for women and child welfare is woefully inadequate. Around 440 million people in the country are aged 18 years and below. Children constitute 40 per cent of the population. Yet, in 2008 the government spent less than five per cent (4.13 per cent precisely) of the total budget on children, mainly on education and healthcare. And in the 2009-10 budget there has been a marginal increase to 4.15 per cent!

Let’s focus on the good news first. Pranab Mukherjee clearly meant business when he made the aam admi “the focus of all our programmes and schemes.” The flagship programme of the UPA, namely the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme gets a huge boost with Rs. 39,100 crores earmarked for this fiscal — marking an increase of 144 per cent over the 2008-09 budget. This means that more employment avenues will be created in rural areas through additional infrastructure projects. It is a positive step that Rs. 100 is being provided as a real wage per day as an entitlement under NREGA. One beneficial fall out of this step is that with a greater guarantee of employment and higher wages, the number of people migrating in search of work could come down. When families are deprived of their livelihoods either due to drought, famine or a natural disaster such as floods, the chances of their falling prey to traffickers increase dramatically. Unscrupulous agents lure such families into sending away their children to the cities for work in exchange for a paltry sum of money. Usually, the families never hear back from their children again and indeed, have little awareness of the ugly reality of trafficking.

The plan for setting up and upgrading polytechnics under the Skill Development Mission has been increased to Rs. 495 crores. This step will indeed help to rehabilitate adolescent child labourers as they could acquire new or enhance existing skills under the “new age” professional schemes envisaged in the Skill Development Mission and National Skill Enhancement Policy.

Again, the government has announced its plan to launch a National Mission for Female Literacy with a focus on minorities, SC, ST and other marginalised groups. The ambitious plan aims to halve female illiteracy by 2012. However, Pranab Mukherjee did not outline an allocation for the scheme. Past experience shows that there is a huge gap between policy intent and implementation. The Adult Literacy programme launched with great hope did lead to the greater empowerment of women and had a direct bearing on improved children’s health and education. Yet, this programme has been starved of funds for several years now. Current plans to revive it are on the right track and could play a big role in helping India to achieve several development targets including those listed in the Millennium Development Goals.

Now, for the bad news. Services under the Integrated Child Development Scheme are to be extended to every child under the age of six by March 2012. Following the Supreme Court order on universalizing ICDS, allocation for the scheme has been increased from Rs. 5665 crores to Rs. 6026 crores but is this at the expense of other child welfare plans? Merely increasing funds for the ICDS will not be enough. What are the plans under the increased allocation? It is still unclear how the universalisation of ICDS will be ensured and so too the quality of the programmes. Almost two million children under the age of 5 die every year in India. India is committed to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 on reducing child mortality but this commitment is not reflected in this budget. Out of the total allocation earmarked for children in this budget 2009-10, only 11.1 per cent is for schemes in the child health sector.

Higher education has got a big boost with an increase of Rs.2000 crores in plan expenditure to Rs.9596 crores. A glaring miss in this budget is the neglect of primary education. While investing in IITs cannot be faulted, what will benefit the country in the long run is the investment in quality, inclusive primary education. This is the foundation on which higher education plans can be built. The allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and mid-day meal remain the same as last year which raises the question: how does the Government aim to enrol and retain the hardest-to-reach children — street and working children, children with disabilities, SC and ST children along with those belonging to minority groups. There was no mention in this budget of any allocation to the Right to Education Bill which was cleared by the Cabinet last week and is expected to be placed in parliament in this session. The Bill which makes elementary education a fundamental right is long overdue and is critical if India is to meet Millennium Development Goal 2.

Budgetary allocation for child protection schemes has not increased, the biggest disappointment being the lack of increased funds for the National Child Labour Project which was expected to be implemented in the districts this year. Only 0.8 per cent of the budget has been earmarked for child protection schemes. This, in a country which has the shocking distinction of having the world’s largest number of sexually abused children. India arguably also has the highest number of children facing exploitation and neglect.

At the outset of his budget speech, Pranab Mukherjee said he was “sensitive to the great challenge of the rising expectations of a young India.” In her inaugural address to parliament, President Pratibha Patil referred to the youth when she spoke of carrying the “weight of their dreams.” The future of the country can only be secure when the future of its children is safe. Marginalising the needs of the future generation on a key policy platform such as the annual Union budget does not translate to a bright future for the country. India will not make significant progress unless it ensures the well-being of its children.