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Mr Finance Minister, what have you got for me this year? - Budget for Children (BfC) in the Union Budget 2012-13 Key Findings • 5.3 per cent of the Union Budget is Budget for Children (BfC) with an increase of 0.3 per cent since 2011-12. This must be set against the inflation rate of 6.6 per cent. • The increase can be attributed to the increased share in Development sector by 66.2 per cent, and health by 29.7 per cent. As always, the share of protection sector remains the lowest. • Despite recognition of protection of children in the XIth Five Year Plan and reaffirmation in the Working Group Report, Ministry of Women and Child Development for the XIIth Plan, there is 18 percent fall in allocation. • Education Sector too has seen a decline of 0.1 per cent over last year. This when over half of India’s children are either not attending school or dropping out before class eight. It however still remains the most resourced sector in the BfC, with 3.6 per cent share of the Union Budget and 67 per cent of the BfC going to it. • Following the recommendations of the Prime Minster’s National Council on India’s National Challenges, the attention given to malnutrition and the introduction of the multi-sectoral programme to address maternal and child malnutrition in selected 200 high burden districts is a very important step given that 46 per cent of our children suffer malnutrition. However where is the additional allocations to back this promise? It is neither in the statement of the health ministry or that of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. • The recognition for attention to urban health is very important through the National Urban Health Mission which is being launched to encompass the primary healthcare needs of people in the urban areas. However, there is no budget line to match this very good intent. • It is heartening to note that despite restriction on subsidies the Finance Minister has promised that from 2012-13 subsidies related to food and for administering the Food Security Act will be fully provided for Sectorwise Allocation for Children in the Union Budget 2011-12 Protection Sector in BfC Key Findings There is 18 per cent fall in the share of the protection sector in the Budget 2012-13 from last year. This is disappointing, since after recognition that protection sector had received in XI Plan, there had been a consistent increase in allocation for this sector, however small it may have been. • There is a 64.6 per cent increase in the allocation for the Integrated Child Protection Scheme from 186.40 crores to 400 crores. This is indeed important given the fact that even after the XIth Five Year Plan period is finished, states are yet to implement the programme. However, this must be seen in the context of the request made the Minsitry of Women and Child Development for 5300 crores for the five year period which is an average of 1060 crores per year! • Given the government’s promises to pay attention to streamlining adoptions in the country the reduction of 74.6 per cent decrease in the allocation for the Central Adoption Resource Agency is indeed disappointing. This is the face of the fact that it is now well established that there is large scale trafficking of children for adoption and there is an urgent need for stringent oversight and regulation. Plan Period (Five-Year Plans) Number of NCLPs Budget Allocations (in Rupees) VIIth Plan 12 VIIIth Plan 76 15 Crores IXth Plan 100 250 Crores Xth Plan ( Upto 3/2007 ) 250 602 Crores XI Plan 250 + 21 625 Crores • There is 60 per cent decline in allocation for National Child Labour Project which had shown had an unprecedented increase in 2011-12 of 176.3 per cent. Indeed, the fall in allocations this year shows that there was every reason to be sceptical of this increase last year. How is it proposed that the recommendations of the Working Group on Child Labour, Ministry of Labour and Employment will be even minimally met, or is it once again lip service to the largest number of working children in the world who are in this country? • Extension of NCLP Scheme in other districts based on the child labour data of Census 2011. • Formation of State Project Society under the Chairpersonship of Principal Secretary/ Secretary (Labour) for implementation of NCLP scheme. • Alignment of NCLP Scheme with RTE Act, 2009. • Creation of National Level Monitoring Committee. • Creation of State Level Monitoring- two tier monitoring committees at state level will be more effective. (a) Core Committees on child labour under chief secretary and (b) State monitoring committee under state labour Secretary. • Residential schools for migrant child labour. • Enhancement of Honorarium of Staff/ teachers of NCLP society/ schools. • Enhancement of Stipend of school children • Enhancement of rent for school buildings. • Award scheme to motivate the project officials. • Awareness generation. • Vocational training for adolescents after completion of study in NCLP Schools. • Creation of National Monitoring Cell and State level monitoring cell. • Tracking and monitoring of child labour. Development Sector in BfC Key findings The share of the development sector that includes allocations for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) as well as all other schemes that do not fall within the other three sectors, has seen an overall increase by 66.2 per cent over 2011-12. This is largely due to the 71.6 per cent increase in the ICDS. However, the ICDS programme has largely by passed children with disabilities and dalit and minority groups. • Within the ICDS, the major increase in ICDS General (59 per cent), while there is a decline in the World Bank ICDS IV Project. • For the first time there is a scheme targetting adolescent boys (Sakhsam) to make them self reliant and gender sensitive. The Scheme will primarily focus on all out of school boys in the age group of 10-18 years. The small allocation of Rs. 10 lakhs has been made for the preparatory work for formulating the schemes. When formulated, this scheme according to the Ministry of Women and Child’s (MWCD) Working Group for the XIIth Plan says they will require Rs. 9729 cores for the five years of the XIIth Plan. • There is a 43 per cent increase in the allocation for Rajiv Gandhi Creche Scheme from Rs.76.5 crores to 2011-12 to Rs.110 crores this year. However, according to the working group of the MWCD’ estimates Rs. 1920 will be required for the Plan period which is Rs.384 crores per year on an average. Hence there is a 71 per cent shortfall in what is required and what has been allocated. Health Sector in BfC Key Findings There is a 29.7 per cent increase in the allocation in the health sector over 2011-12, which is really welcome as the health allocations are really low. India spends only 4. 4 per cent of its budget on health, far below the global median of 11,5 per cent. India’s spending on health lower than Bangladesh (7.4 per cent) and Sri Lanka (7.9 per cent). As a consequence, India’s healthcare infrastructure is sub-standard and inadequate, lacking doctors and hospital beds. • The increase in allocation can be traced to the 223 per cent increase in the manufacture of serum and vaccine. • There is a 32 per cent increase in Strengthening of Immunisation Prog. & Eradication of Polio (includes routine immunisation and pulse polio). Education Sector in BfC Key Findings Despite receiving the maximum share of the BfC it has seen a fall in allocation from the last year, however miniscule this may be. It does reflect on the government’s lip service universalisation of education despite children still remaining out school and retention of children in schools, especially that of girls, and children belonging to SC. ST and minority groups a challenge According to the Economic Survey 2011-12, the Twelfth Plan Approach Paper focuses on teacher training and evaluation measures to enforce accountability. It also stresses the need to build capacity in secondary schools to absorb the passouts from expanded primary enrolments (page 319). • The reduction in the education sector is primarily due to the reduction in the National Institute of Open Schooling and that for the Schedule Caste children. • The Financed Minister in has in his speech said “ In the Twelfth Plan, 6,000 schools have been proposed to be set up at block level as model schools to benchmark excellence. Of these, 2500 will be set up under Public Private Partnership.” Is this why he has reduced the allocation from 1200 crores to 1079 crores, a decline of 10 per cent? • There is an increase of 21.7 per cent over 2011-12 in the budget for Sarva Shiksha Abhyaan and an increase of 13.9 per cent in Mid-day Meal Scheme. • There is a 29 per cent increase in the allocation for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched in 2009-10. • There is a 37.5 per cent increase in the share of the government in SSA, while for the first time since the Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh, the 2 per cent cess was introduced, its share is 23 per cent. • The marginalised have been further marginalised with the Post Matric for SC students has seen a decline of 32.4 per cent. • There is a decline of 30 per cent in the scheme for Inclusive Education for the Disabled at the Secondary Education (IEDSS) although there has been an new allocation made for Post Metric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities of which matches the 30 crore reduced from IEDSS. Conclusion This year’s budget can be seen in isolation. It has to be seen in the context of requirements of the XIIth Five Year Plan and the unfulfilled commitments of the XII th Five Year Plan. “ We are about to enter the first year of the Twelfth Five Year Plan which aims at “faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth” , said the Finance Minister. Perhaps what he should have also added is the need for inclusive development. There remain many states and communities that need further attention when we are speaking of inclusive development. Given the performance of the states on various child rights indicators presented in the table below (child rights index developed by HAQ), it becomes imperative to focus on improving the implementation of policies, laws, programmes and plans. This implies: (a) Better outreach based on identification of states that lag behind as also groups of children who remain untouched in both rural and urban areas.
(b) A continuum in the outreach to ensure that children’s concerns at all ages 0-18 are addressed.
(c) Reduction in the gap between sanctioned and operational projects.
(d) Consolidation of existing interventions
(e) Improved quality of services and prevention of leakages of funds and resources.
(f) Legal and policy reform to establish effective justice delivery mechanisms and procedures
(g) Setting up required structures for implementation
(h) Strengthening existing structures through investment of human and financial resources
(i) Training and capacity building of personnel
(j) Mergers and restructuring of centrally sponsored schemes, where required
(k) Investing in new areas of programmatic intervention based on a needs assessment and situational analysis
(l) Building a caring community for children
(m) Restructuring and mergers where required at the centre, in the states and between the centre and the states
(n) Convergence in the outreach State Ranking on various Child Rights Indicators Source: HAQ: Centre for Child Rights