Andhra Pradesh budget: thrust to economic uplift of women
VISAKHAPATNAM: The total outlay of gender budget has been pegged at Rs 55,015.20 crore in the State budget for 2022-23 presented by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath in the Assembly on Friday. The Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was first introduced in 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs 47,283.21 crore. The objective of GRB is to encourage all departments to evolve their plans and budgets from a gender perspective. A GRB action plan has been evolved for 2021-25 involving all the stakeholders.
Reiterating the State government’s commitment to gender equality, he said gender budget cells have been set up in all departments and an Inter-Departmental Monitoring Committee (IDMC) is being set up for effective monitoring of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The AP Human Resource Development Institute (APHRDI) has been appointed a nodal capacity building institute for GRB. In the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2020-21, AP stood fourth in the country. Navaratnalu schemes have been linked to indicators of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Of 40 gender indicators presented across 13 SDGs, AP has scored 72/100 and became an overall front runner in implementation of SDGs.
A sum of Rs 34,841.34 crore has been incurred for the uplift of 1,15,11,936 women beneficiaries through non-DBT. A total of 4,69,38,970 women beneficiaries have been provided Rs 1,18,350.52 crore through DBT and Non-DBT.
Under YSR Aasara, 7,96,532 SHGs will get Rs 25,516.56 crore over a period of four years. So far, Rs 12,758 crore has been released to 7.97 lakh SHGs, benefiting 78.75 lakh members. A sum of Rs 6,400 crore has been allocated for the scheme in 2022-23. Under YSR Cheyutha, Rs 9,179.67 crore has been released to 24.95 lakh beneficiaries. A total of Rs 4,235.95 crore has been allocated for both rural and urban SHGs in the budget for 2022-23.
Under YSR Sunna Vaddi, Rs 2,354.22 crore has been released to 98 lakh SHG women. In the 2022-23 budget, Rs 800 crore has been allocated for it. For YSR Kapu Nestham, Rs 500 crore has been allocated.