Budget 2020: What women expect from Nirmala Sitharaman?
The first full-time woman Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for the second time on Saturday. While presenting the 2019 Budget she quoted Swami Vivekananda and said, "There's no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing." From a woman-finance minister, it is expected that the Union Budget 2020 would be women-friendly.
The last Budget emphasised on self-help groups (SGHS) and announced that every woman member of SGHS, holding a Jan Dhan account will be allowed an overdraft of ₹ 5,000. One woman of every SHG will also be eligible for a loan up to ₹ 1 lakh under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana Scheme.
In Union Budget 2020 the top concerns may be -- What common woman want in the budget? What will it bring for women safety? Will women entrepreneurs have more scope to flourish? How much government will allocate for women skill training?
These are some areas which are the top priorities for women:
Safety and security: Woman of all aspects and class are eyeing for the announcement that would provide a better environment and infrastructure for women safety. With the increasing number of crime against women, everyone is keeping safety high on their list of issues to be addressed by the Finance Minister.
Last year in April, the government had sanctioned ₹ 4,000 crores for Nirbhaya Fund for various women safety projects. Allocation of the funds in Nirbhaya Fund is expected to increase for setting up of special police units for women and children and also to provide financial assistance to rape and acid attack victims.
Women entrepreneurship: According to the World Bank, 48 per cent of the Indian population i.e women, are not benefitted equally from India's economic growth. Sixty-five per cent of women are literate as compared to 80 per cent of men. India has amongst the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world. Less than a third of women – 15 years or older – are working or actively looking for a job.
Earlier, the government had introduced Support to Training and Employment Program (STEP) to empower women who want to be financially independent. However, the fund allocation for the program was downsized from Rs 40 crore to just Rs 5 crore.
In this Budget, women would expect more fund allocation for STEP to provide better skill training and employment opportunities. Simplifying start-up regulations, corporate tax structures and revising incentives would be welcoming measures by Nirmala Sitharaman.
Income tax exemption limit: Earlier, the government had increased the income tax exemption limit by reducing women's contribution to EPF from 12 per cent to 8 per cent. Now, women would expect further exemption and Section 80C for better saving. With this, they can also think about better investment opportunities in future.
