MoWCD Hosts India’s First National Consultation on Gender Budgeting in New Delhi.

In June 2025, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) conducted India’s first-ever National Consultation on Gender Budgeting at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The event aimed to strengthen gender-responsive fiscal policies by bringing together policymakers and global development partners.

      - The consultation was designed to align India’s budgetary priorities with gender equity goals. Over 160 senior officials from 40 central ministries/departments and 19 states/UTs participated. Delegates included representatives from UN Women, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and several national-level economists and budget experts.

      - Discussions revolved around institutionalizing gender budgeting across ministries, evaluating gender outcomes under flagship schemes, and identifying fiscal tools to mainstream gender concerns. MoWCD emphasized making gender budgeting an integral component of Outcome-Based Budgeting (OBB) and the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) submitted annually with the Union Budget.

      - Union Minister Annapurna Devi reaffirmed that Gender Budgeting has remained a policy pillar since 2005-06, but it has now evolved into a strategic governance instrument. In FY 2025-26, the Government of India allocated ₹4.49 lakh crore under the Gender Budget, reflecting a 37% increase from the previous year.

Main Point :-   (i) Over the last decade, India’s Gender Budget allocations have grown 4.5 times—from ₹0.98 lakh crore in FY 2014-15 to ₹4.49 lakh crore in FY 2025-26. This demonstrates the Centre’s increasing financial commitment toward gender equality and social inclusion through targeted schemes and public service delivery.

      (ii) On the sidelines of the event, MoWCD also launched a new digital portal named ‘Gender Budgeting Knowledge Hub’, developed in collaboration with policy think tanks. This centralized portal will host gender-disaggregated data, policy briefs, scheme-level best practices, and training modules for departments at both central and state levels.

(iii) The consultation marks a pivotal step in embedding gender equity into India’s fiscal architecture. The Knowledge Hub will act as a key enabler for real-time monitoring and capacity building. MoWCD plans to institutionalize such consultations annually to refine frameworks and empower ministries to deliver more inclusive budgets.
About Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD)