Sustainable Development Goals: Insights from gender, child budgeting in Madhya Pradesh

By Kumar Ratan & Prashansa Dixit

As per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW, Government of India) population projections for 2011-2036, the female population in Madhya Pradesh, as percentage of total population, is 48.4% (2023) and child population (0-14 yrs) is 29.3% (2021). By 2036, Madhya Pradesh will have 48.8% of India’s women and 22.7% of its children.

These projections underline the importance of policies and investments made for women and children today to reap a demographic dividend and promote inclusive economic development in the state.

Socio-economic development of women and children is intricately linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations. The 17 SGDs address critical areas of poverty, health, education, and gender equality.

According to the SDG India Index 2023-24, published by the NITI Aayog, GoI, Madhya Pradesh has shown varied progress in the status of women and children across several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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UN SDGs and Madhya Pradesh

The SDG 1 – end to poverty – underscores the significance of social protection systems in alleviating poverty. For women and children, key indicators include the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line, segmented by sex and age, and the proportion of women and children benefiting from social protection programmes.

In SDG1, Madhya Pradesh is categorised as a front-runner, demonstrating substantial progress in reducing multidimensional poverty. The state has made significant strides with households having at least one member covered under health insurance or health schemes, living in pucca or semi-pucca houses, and receiving employment through MNREGA.

But in Goal 2 (zero hunger), Madhya Pradesh is in the aspirant category, facing critical challenges in child nutrition. As per NITI Aayog’s SDG report, approximately 33% of children under five are underweight and 35.7% are stunted. Furthermore, 52.8% of pregnant women aged 15-49 years are anaemic, underscoring the need for enhanced nutritional programmes.

The SDG 3 (good health and well-being) emphasises the need for comprehensive healthcare, with a particular focus on maternal and child health. Key indicators under this goal include the maternal mortality ratio, under-five mortality rate, prevalence of malnutrition among children, and the coverage of prenatal and postnatal care. Though there is progress in Goal 3, the state remains in the aspirant category, grappling with severe health challenges. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is 173, the second worst in the country after Assam (195), against a national average of 97. The under-five mortality rate, although improved from 56 in 2020-21 to 51, remains unsatisfactory compared to the national average of 32. However, there has been progress in child immunisation, with 93.19% of children aged 9-11 months being fully immunised, up from 89% in the 2020-21 report.

The fourth SDG (quality education) is vital for guaranteeing access to quality education for all, particularly girls and women. Important indicators for this goal include the net enrolment rate for primary and secondary education by sex, literacy rate for women and girls, and the gender parity index in education. Talking about quality education, the state is still in the aspirant category. While there have been improvements in various educational indicators, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher secondary and higher education still requires significant enhancement to ensure better educational opportunities for children, especially girls.

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Gender equality (SDG 5) also implies empowering all women and girls. Key indicators include the gender development index, women's participation in the labour force, and the prevalence of domestic violence against women. Despite some progress in gender equity in the state, it still needs to make considerable efforts to be in the front-runner category.

MP Government: Budget for women, children

The government of Madhya Pradesh has initiated slew of measures in its gender budget and child budget, to ensure holistic empowerment and development of women and children. This involves resources directed towards policies and programmes addressing their specific needs to ensure well-being, security, and empowerment. For women, it includes maternity benefits, gender-sensitive social insurance, protection against violence, access to healthcare, and economic empowerment initiatives. For children, it encompasses areas like nutritional support, access to education and healthcare, youth sports and child protection environment.

While presenting the budget for the 2024-25 financial year, the finance minister of Madhya Pradesh emphasised that the budget aims to unlock the potential for inclusive growth. The budget size has increased by 16% compared to the previous financial year.

Highlighting initiatives for women and child development, the FM mentioned that Madhya Pradesh has adopted a life cycle approach for women's empowerment, exemplified by the Ladli Laxmi Yojna and Ladli Behna Yojna.

Under the Ladli Laxmi Yojna, 48.03 lakh girls benefit, ensuring their higher education. Additionally, 11,706 anganwadis – early childhood care and education centres – are being upgraded to Saksham Anganwadi centres. To improve child nutrition in tribal areas, Rs 150 crore has been allocated for constructing anganwadi buildings under PM JANMAN. In the education sector, initiatives like CM Rise schools and PM SHRI Yojna focus on providing quality education and infrastructure in schools.

Madhya Pradesh’s gender budget 33.4% of total

The Gender Budget Statement (GBS) for 2024-25 (BE) reflects an overall gender budget that has increased by 18.5%, rising from Rs 1,02,976 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to Rs 1,21,997 crore in 2024-25. This represents 33.4% of the total state budget, a notable rise from 32.7% in the previous year.

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Schemes and programmes of 31 departments are covered under GBS.

Similarly, the Child Budget Statement (CBS) reflects a significant increase in allocation for children, rising from Rs 64,638.02 crore in 2023-24 (BE) to Rs 70,447 crore in 2024-25 (BE). This represents a 9% growth in allocation from previous year. The child budget encompasses 17 departments, which highlights a comprehensive approach to addressing various aspects of child welfare across multiple sectors.

The analysis of GBS shows that the allocations for Category-1 schemes, which have 100% budgetary provisions for women, have nearly doubled — from Rs 11,883.5 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 23,719 crore in 2024-25. Category-2 schemes, where at least 30% of the budget is directed towards women, also saw a 7.9% increase. This reflects a significant boost in investment toward women-centric policies across sectors such as education, health, security, and financial progress.

Similarly, CBS Category-1 has seen a substantial increase in total allocation, rising by Rs 2,928.74 crore, from Rs 43,367.89 crore (in 2023-24) to Rs 46,296.63 crore (in 2024-25) – a 6.75% rise. Here we have analysed Category-1 budgetary allocation under GBS and CBS.

Under GBS, the outlay for Government of Madhya Pradesh’s public health and family welfare department has doubled in Category-1 as compared to the previous year. This has happened majorly due to an increase in the monthly incentive for ASHA workers that has increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,000 from September, 2023. The budget under the head increased from Rs 105 crore in 2023-34 to Rs 490.34 crore in 2024-25.

The food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department has, for the first time, reported a scheme in Category-1. This includes the LPG Subsidy Scheme (Ujjwala and Non-Ujjwala) with a budget of Rs 520 crore. Budget for the women and child development department has doubled in Category-1 as compared to the previous year. This has happened due to an increase in budget for Ladli Behna Yojna.

Similarly, the rural development budget has also doubled, featuring the introduction of the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Awas Yojna with a Rs 40 crore allocation, and an increase in the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojna (MKSP) budget to Rs 20 crore. The second scheme aims to enhance the status of women in agriculture and provide greater empowerment opportunities. The transport department is a new addition in GBS this year which has introduced a new scheme under the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ for women’s safety in public road transport.

Madhya Pradesh Child Budget: Education, nutrition, protection

The Child Budget Statement for FY 2024-25 underscores the government's intensified focus on children’s welfare in the state.

The budget for the school education department has seen an increase to Rs 31,470.5 crore from Rs 30,244.6 crore, marking a 4.05% rise. In the law and legislature sector, the allocation for POCSO Fast Track courts has been significantly boosted by 29.83%, reaching Rs 155.8 crore, up from Rs 120 crore. Funding for tribal affairs has also grown, rising to Rs 10,467.9 crore from Rs 9,762.7 crore, a 7.22% increase. The social justice and disability welfare budget has increased to Rs 45.74 crore from Rs 39.52 crore, reflecting a 15.74% rise.

The women and child development (WCD) sector has been allocated Rs 1,429.2 crore, a notable 27.11% increase over its previous budget of Rs 1,124.4 crore. Additionally, the rural development sector has experienced a significant rise, with its budget increasing to Rs 1,478.2 crore from Rs 879.2 crore, marking a 68.15% increase.

The budget has earmarked Rs 8 crore for the Child Helpline, which aims to provide immediate support to children in distress, and Rs 5.1 crore for Mission Vatsalya, which focuses on care for victims of sexual offences under the POCSO Act. This allocation is expected to enhance rehabilitation, counselling, and legal support services for affected children.

These budgetary allocations and new initiatives reflect Madhya Pradesh’s ongoing commitment to adopting women-led development and improving child welfare and protection for achieving sustainable development goals.

To drive effective social and economic development, particularly in gender responsiveness and child welfare, multi-pronged strategies are being adopted by the government. By establishing quantifiable outcome indicators and linking SDG indicators with these budgets will facilitate the monitoring of gender and child budget utilisation, enabling informed decision-making for policy makers.

Also collection of data on various indicators at the district level can be beneficial for more targeted interventions. Resource allocations should be strategically directed toward high-need areas, such as education and health, to achieve sustainable outcomes and inclusive growth.

Additionally, establishing dialogue with stakeholders’ civil society and communities, will promote participatory budgetary process for women empowerment and child welfare in the state.

Kumar Ratan and Prashansa Dixit are policy researchers with Madhya Pradesh Rajya Niti Aayog, based in Bhopal (MP) and views expressed here are personal.