How the Union Budget Fails India’s Children

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Union Budget has drawn criticism from different quarters of society for not being satisfactory. Important among the dissatisfied sections is one that concerns the future of India—the children, who constitute 39% of the population, including infants, young children and adolescents. 

The needs of India’s children vary on the basis of their socio-economic status, sex and even place of living. But all of them need maximum care since their body is tender and they have less immunity compared to adults. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), about 38% of the children below 5 years are stunted and about 58% are anaemic. 

BJP’s manifesto ahead of the 2014 general elections promised a protected environment for children. The 2018 Budget, however, does not speak in the same language. Although a roadmap for development of children called the National Plan of Action (NPAC), which proposes 5% budgetary spending on children, has been announced, the recommendations are far from seeing the light of day on the ground.

Source: CBGA

There are a numerous issues affecting our children and, over time, their vulnerabilities have only risen. The children received only 3.24% of the financial resources in this year’s Budget, a decline of 0.08% from last year. The trend of such cuts has been consistent since 2012-13, the sharpest decline coming in 2015-16. 

In 2014-15 when the BJP came to power, the share of  Budget for children (BfC) was 4.52%. In this government’s final year in office, the share has reduced to 3.24%. While the Central government continuously reaffirms its commitment to the young using its control over media, the reality is actually quite different.  

The scheme for prevention of alcoholism and substance (drug) abuse has seen a reduction of 27.54%. Even the Supreme Court’s order to prepare a national plan of action to combat drug abuse amongst school children within six months has not been paid any heed. 

Creches are provided under certain schemes for CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB. This comprises only the formal sector engagement of women’s needs. The Rajiv Gandhi National Creche scheme, renamed the National Creche scheme, was meant for women in the unorganised sector but the Budget has cut its share by 35.8%. 

Child health remains another important area which has been neglected in the Budget. In his speech the finance minister did say that “only Swasthya Bharat (healthy India) can be Sammriddha Barat (prosperous India)”. But the share of allocation for child health in the Budget does not reflect that. In fact, the share of child health has only fallen over the years. 

Child education in the Budget 2018-19 does not provide a clear road map for improving the quality of education. There has been a mention of a national survey whose finding will be taken as a basis for improving the quality of education but no budgetary provisions have been made for the same. 

The Budget also lacks a firm commitment towards child protection. According to child rights experts, crimes against children have been on the rise and so are cases of juveniles in conflict with law (7.2% in 2015-16).  

India is a signatory to the United Nations World Habitat declaration called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal No. 16 of the declaration specifically gives direction for promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The country’s young population is a potential resource for its growth. It is important to ensure the young have access to proper nutrition, health, education and a protective environment that allows them to reach their full potential. But the Budget disappoints on this count.