A Decade of Gender Budgeting in Karnataka: A Preliminary Review
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561241248135 |
| Author | Ashraf Pulikkamath,Chaya Degaonkar |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
A Decade of Gender
Budgeting in Karnataka:
A Preliminary Review
Ashraf Pulikkamath1 and Chaya Degaonkar2,3
Abstract
Understanding the necessity of gendering fiscal policies is a relatively new area
in public finance research, which is now gaining momentum. The importance of
gender differential impacts of the budgetary process is the highlight of the argu-
ment here, while a gender-mainstreamed society is the anticipated outcome.
Based on the State gender-budget data of Karnataka (2007–2019), this article
is an attempt to revisit the decade-long history of this exercise in the State.
On the one hand, it attempts to reveal the good deeds of the practice in the
State, and on the other hand, it highlights the lack of ‘gender concerns’ in the
process. Using a framework given by Das, Thakur, and Sikdar (2006, Report of
the gender budgeting study for West Bengal. Centre for Budget and Governance
Accountability), this study applies a descriptive approach to review the process
and magnitude of gender budgeting in Karnataka. The review reveals that the
priorities of Karnataka’s gender budgets remain within the umbrella of ‘welfare
approach’ that caters to practical gender needs, despite its institutionalisation
and experience for a decade.
Keywords
Gender budget, Karnataka, fiscal innovation, India
Introduction
Gender sensitisation of budgetary policies is a way of negotiating gender con-
cerns in scal policies, which are otherwise deemed gender-neutral. The Ministry
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(4) 843–859, 2024
© 2024 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561241248135
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1 School of Social Sciences & Humanities, VIT-AP University, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, India
2 Former Additional Chief Evaluation Officer, Karnataka Evaluation Authority (KEA), Planning
Department, Government of Karnataka, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
3 Gulbarga University, Kalaburagi, Karnataka, India
Corresponding author:
Ashraf Pulikkamath, School of Social Sciences & Humanities, VIT-AP University, Amaravati,
Andhra Pradesh 522237, India.
E-mails: ashraf.p@vitap.ac.in; ashrafpulikkamath@gmail.com
844 Indian Journal of Public Administration 70(4)
of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Government of India, denes
gender budgeting as an ongoing process of keeping a gender perspective in policy
formulation, implementation and review. The rationale for gender budgeting (GB)
arises from the recognition that national budgets have gender-dierential impacts;
hence, the ‘neutrality’ assumption does not hold. It is evidenced that the composi-
tion and distribution of national resources through government budgets have the
potential to transform gender inequalities in the nation (Chakraborty, 2016a, b).
Australia pioneered the concept of gender budgeting in 1984. Additional
impetus to the concept was provided by the Fourth World Conference on Women
held in Beijing in 1995. The ‘Beijing Platform for Action’ called for the inclusion
of a gender perspective and women’s needs in budgetary policies and programmes.
Since then, multiple international agreements or declarations rearmed this com-
mitment to using government budgets for gender equality and women’s advance-
ment objectives (Stotsky, 2006). Today, several leading nations have adopted
GB steps in their scal policy frameworks (International Monetary Fund
(IMF), 2015).
Why Does Gender Matter?
A society that limits women’s potential misses out on innovation, economic pro-
gress and job creation. Former IMF Chief Christine Lagarde and former Norwegian
Prime Minister Erna Solberg think that India’s GDP might grow by 27% if female
workers reach parity with male workers (Consulate General of India, Perth, 2018).
Advancing women’s equality in India could boost its GDP by US$0.7 trillion in
2025, or 16%, compared to the existing scenario (McKinsey Global Institute,
2015). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacic
estimates that if India’s female labour force’s participation reaches parity with
that of the United States (86%), its GDP could gain US$19 billion (Rajneesh,
2021). Hence, entrepreneurship and labour force participation remain critical
to harnessing the economic potential of women and, thus, achieving the UN
Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (Korreck, 2019).
GB is a popularly recognised tool to address gender discrimination, being a
rights-based approach (Budlender, 2002). This approach pays attention to human
development budget requirements and helps choose budgetary and policy solu-
tions. Further, by ensuring the transparency and accountability of budgetary allo-
cation for women, GB gives a sense of ‘voice’ to women (Chakraborty, 2010).
Ichii (2010) perceives that the need for integrating gender into budgetary policies
is multi-dimensional, and it ensures human rights which is the rst role of gender
budgeting. Vargas-Valente (2001) argued that the government should reform
the citizen’s perspectives on inequalities inuenced by government decisions.
Studies have found a positive correlation between GB and gender empowerment
(Chakraborty, 2016a; Stotsky & Zaman, 2016). India formally adopted GB in
2005 (MWCD, 2015) and every annual budget since then has included a Gender
Budget Statement (GBS). In the budget speech of 2005–2006, Finance Minister
P. Chidambaram remarked that he included a separate GBS in the budget
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