Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Union Budget 2024-25 has allotedmore than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes directed towards women and girls and fostering women-led development, during her presentation of the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23. This is Ms. Sitharaman’s record seventh time making a budget speech. It is also the first Budget by the third NDA government after the Lok Sabha elections 2024 triumph.
Sitharaman added that the budgetary allocation underlined the government’s role in enhancing women‘s role in economic development.
To foster the participation of women in the workforce, the government will collaborate with industry to establish working women hostels and creche-facilities, she said. Also, this industry-government partnership is also expected to introduce women-specific skilling programmes and direct market access to women-led SHG enterprises.
To ensure social justice, the government has adopted a saturation approach to cater to all eligible people through various schemes. The main motive is to achieve inclusive human resource development, one of the major priorities of the Union Budget 2024-25.
Sitharaman said, “Our government is committed to all-round, all-pervasive and all-inclusive development of people, particularly farmers, youth, women and the poor.”
She underlined that execution of schemes for promoting economic activities by craftsmen, artisans, SHGs, SC/ST and women entrepreneurs and street vendors, such as PM Vishwakarma, PM SVAnidhi, NRLM and Stand-UP India will be ensured.
