INDIA BUDGET FOR CHILDREN TO Prepared by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi

Transcription

1 INDIA B U D G ET F O R C H I L D R EN I N I N D I A t o BUDGET FOR CHILDREN TO Prepared by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, New Delhi 01

2 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN INDIA TO A Study by: HAQ: Centre for Child Rights

3 Printed and Published in 2015 ISBN Number: HAQ: Centre for Child Rights B 1/2, Malviya Nagar, Ground Floor New Delhi , India Phone: /3599 Fax: info@haqcrc.org Website: Credits Research Team Enakshi Ganguly Thukral Farhana Yasmin Kumar Shailabh Supported by : FORD Foundation Photographs : Pallab Seth (Cover), Premnath Thirumalaisamy (Pg 2), Pilar Pacheco (Pg 40) Designed and Printed by : Aspire Design

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS PREFACE v vii INTRODUCTION 3 CHILD HEALTH 20 ANNEXURE: Child Health 33 CHILD DEVELOPMENT 41 ANNEXURE: Child Development 55 CHILD EDUCATION 61 ANNEXURE: Child Education 78 CHILD PROTECTION 99 ANNEXURE: Child Protection 113 iii

5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS AE Actual Expenditure AWC AWH AWW BfC BE CAG CICL CNCP CWC DDG DISE GDP ICDS ICPS ICCW IMR JJ JICL Anganwadi Centre Anganwadi Helper Anganwadi Worker Budget for Children Budget Estimate Comptroller and Auditor General Chid in Conflict with Law Child in Need of Care and Protection Child Welfare Committee Detailed Demand for Grants District Information System for Education Gross Domestic Product Integrated Child Development Scheme Integrated Child Protection Scheme Indian Council for Child Welfare Infant Mortality Rate Juvenile Justice Juvenile in Conflict with Law v

6 JJ Act Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000 JJB JWO KSY MCH MDM MMR MoU NBCC NCLP NCPCR NCRB NFHS NGO NUEPA NSSO PHC RCH RE Juvenile Justice Board Juvenile Welfare Officer Kishori Shakti Yojana Mother and Child Healthcare Mid day Meal Maternal Mortality Rate Memorandum of Understanding New Born Care Corner National Child Labour Project National Commission for Protection of Child Rights National Crime Record Bureau National Family Health Survey Non-governmental Organisation National University for Educational Planning and Administration National Sample Survey Organisation Primary Health Centre Reproductive and Child Health Revised Expenditure RTE Right to (Free and Compulsory) Education Act, 2009 SCNU SHC SJPU SNP SSA Special Care New Born Unit School Health Clinics Special Juvenile Police Unit Supplementary Nutrition Scheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan UNICEF United Nations International Children s Emergency Fund NER CRC DFID Net Enrolment Ratio Convention on the Rights of Child Department for international Development

7 PREFACE It has been 14 years since HAQ first started questioning the State s responsibilities and promises towards children through budget analysis. Over these years, we have been constantly engaging with the government functionaries through our budget analysis. HAQ s last trend analysis was published in the year 2009, which included the trend ananlysis from to Taking this work further, this time, we have analysed the government s commitments towards ensuring and securing the rights of the children for six years spanning from to In the last years HAQ has worked with partners in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi and Assam. This study has been made possible with the support of Ford Foundation. Enakshi Ganguly Thukral Co-Director Bharti Ali Co-Director vii

8 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Budget for Children in India TO

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10 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION India has emerged to be second most populated country in the world. Child population in India constitutes almost 39 per cent of the total India s population. Every year estimated 26 million children are born in India (Census 2011) 1 They are all citizens of this country and their rights have to be recognised and realised. Article 15 (3) of the Constitution has recognised the need for making special provisions for children. A budget of country is perhaps the most important reflection of its political priorities. That is why, come the last working day of February, India s Finance Minister presents the Union Budget to the Parliament. The media devotes itself to analysing various aspects of the budget, speaking to numerous experts, scrutinising whether it favours industry, agriculture, and the middle class and so on. The opposition invariably screams the budget is populist, anti-poor and anti common man. Indeed, a budget concretely expresses a government s intentions, policies, priorities, policies and the choice of development pathways. Technically, budgets include the government s expenditure and revenue proposals. Economically and politically, it is the most important document mirroring its policy priorities and fiscal targets. It is also a legal document passed by the legislature and, like any law, needs the chief executive s assent. Thus budgets have an economic, political and technical basis. India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC) two decades ago in 1992 which mandates the signatory countries to ensure well-being of children. Apart from these international commitments, India has developed various policy documents on child welfare. Even the Five Year Plan documents have special mention about children, with a special section dedicated to child rights since the Eleventh Plan. Apart from the policy documents, the government has numerous welfare schemes/programmes for children. In this context, it is quite essential to analyse the government s efforts to meet the targets mentioned in its policy documents. 1 Children in India 2012: A Statistical Approach ; Chapter 2; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; mospi_new/upload/children_in_india_2012, pdf, accessed on

11 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights As an important economic and political statement that signals its vision and future policy priorities, the budget of any government must ensure adequate resourcing for the successful implementation of the schemes and achievement of the set goals it has set for itself. Along with allocation, it is imperative that the money has been spent efficiently and effectively, and the outcomes achieved. While budgets of a country affects everyone, its impact on the marginalised groups like children, the poor, the disabled, and the excluded SCs, STs and minorities is much more. Children among them are particularly vulnerable to government decisions about raising resources and spending. Budgets can be a powerful tool for monitoring state performance and advancing human rights as they help in: Measuring government s commitment to specific policy areas, and contrasting that commitment to other lowerpriority areas; Determining the trends in spending on programme areas, to ensure that programmes aimed at meeting human rights commitments receive a growing share of the budget over time. Costing out the implications of policy proposals; Analysing the impact of budgetary choices on people; Assessing the adequacy of budgets relative to international or local conventions and commitments; and Identifying sources of new funding for proposed policies. Fundar, International Budget Project and International Human Rights Internship Program. Dignity Counts- A Guide to using Budget Analysis to Advance Human Rights Inasmuch as it expresses resolutions and intents for the forthcoming year, the budget analyses rarely scrutinise the performance of the previous years. In the Indian situation, the budgetary outlays (budget estimates) for a particular year are revised in the next fiscal year (revised estimates) and the actual spending (actual expenditure) is available only after a gap of two years. Thus for instance in , we would get only the budget estimates (BE), the revised estimates (RE) for and the actual expenditures (AE) for Often, there is a difference between the BE, RE and the AE. This difference is not just about fiscal planning, allocation and expenditure. In fact it is a reflection of planning and execution of initiatives of the government for the realisation of rights and entitlements of its citizens. In other words the results of any budget analysis is a score card of the governance system of a country or a state. Hence, budget analysis is a powerful tool for both the government to assess itself as well as for civil society to monitor state performance and hold it accountable. 4

12 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Budget for Children (BfC) As with human rights in general, budget monitoring is an effective tool for monitoring the governments efforts towards ensuring rights of the children, including the future requirements by analysing the money allocated and spent against the physical targets achieved in various schemes specific to children. Budget for Children was started by HAQ in 2000 with a decadal analysis, and since then we have been analysing the budgets, both central and of several states since The Government of India has been undertaking children s budgeting since 2003 and has since 2008 included a special Expenditure Budget Statement on Schemes for the Welfare of Children. In this study, we analyse the Union Budget from the point of view of children, for the six years ending in We seek to evaluate the budgetary provisions of the Government of India (GOI) in ensuring the rights of children, scrutinising in detail the areas of health, development, education and protection, using the GOI data bases. Our analyses in each sector mainly examines the current outlay and the divergence of the actual expenditures from the respective allocations and where possible the underlying causalities for the under or over utilisation. Thus, in broad terms, the BfC study attempts to analyse the financial priorities of the GoI with respect to its declared commitments for the children. It seeks to understand and question the extent to which promises made by the government have been translated into policies and programmes that protect children s rights, mainly through an analysis of the Union Budgets for a specific timeframe and other government and academic review documents. It has to be noted that the BfC is not a separate budget, but an exercise to disaggregate the allocations for all programmes and schemes benefitting children across the nation. Child budget analyses can be carried out for national, state, sectoral and departmental budgets. Methodology Data Source Since 2007, budget related data for children is available in the Expenditure Budget Statement 22. This information is also available in the Detailed Demands for Grants (DDGs) of the Different Ministries and Departments. At HAQ we have chosen to base our analysis on the DDGs for the following reasons: 1. Statement 22 is a constantly evolving document with more and more departments/ ministries/ schemes and programmes being added in every year and hence the information in it is not consistent over the years. 5

13 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights No. of Minister/Demands No. of Schemes Share of Bfc FIGURE 1.1 Statement 22 ( to ) 2. The figures in the Statement 22 and the DDGs do not tally. At the same time while Statement 22 only includes the major heads, the minor and sub-minor are available only in DDGs making it possible to dig deeper into the data. The methodology and analysis structure has been developed by HAQ in 2000 and has continued to be the same. The ministries and departments that run programmes are selected and the Child-related expense heads in the detailed demands for grants under each of these departments and ministries are selected. All three budget figures (Budget Estimate, Revised Estimate and Actual Expenditure) pertaining to the selected heads were entered and tabulated for comparison and analysis. For the purpose of calculating percentage average, instead of adding each year s figures and then taking out the average value of percentage figure, we have calculated this figure from the absolute average values of total number of years. Analysis structure The CRC defines the four basic rights of a child as the rights to survival, Development, Protection and Participation. However, based on how the budget figure are available, we have divided the programmes and schemes into four sectors specific to children development, health, education and protection. 6

14 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Development Health Education Protection With special focus on Early Childhood Care and Development, it includes those schemes which don t fit in other sectors but are meant for overall development of children. This sector includes programmes and schemes related to the health care needs of children. Some schemes such as Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), Sukhibhava etc. which aim at correcting maternal mortality rate (MMR) do not benefit children directly but have been still taken under health sector as they positively impact the infant mortality rates (IMR). Here, we have included elementary and secondary education from the School Education Department. Some schemes from the Higher Education Department and Technical Education Department are incorporated under secondary education because these target children up to the age of 18 years. Educational schemes/ programmes run by departments other than the Education Department are also included here. This sector contains programmes and schemes aimed at specially disadvantaged groups of children, including child labour, adoption, trafficked children, children who are physically or mentally challenged street children and children in conflict with law. The focus of analysis was identification of gaps at the following multiple levels: Between needs of the children to fulfill their rights and the commitments made by the state, both national and international; Between the commitments made by the state and the actual programmes/schemes under the various ministries and departments; Between the objectives of the programmes/schemes and the financial allocations towards them; Between the allocations and actual expenditures; and Between the outlays and the outcomes. For preparing the final report, to begin with, the total allocation and expenditure for each individual schemes/programmes was calculated. In the second stage, the sum total for all programmes in a sector was made for each of the four sectors and then the total Budget for Children (BfC) was calculated. Then the sectoral totals and the BfC were compared with the total state budget. In the third stage, the Need vs. Allocation analysis was done using the allocations against the quantitative and qualitative status of the children in the state. At this stage, secondary data and analysis from different government and non-government reports and publications have been used. In the fourth stage, the analysis of Allocation vs. spending was made on the basis of the data on actual expenditure (AE) available from the Detailed Demands for Grants (DDGs) for the first three years and comparing them with the budget and revised expenditure figures to gauge how well government money was being utilised for the children. This and the outlays vs. outcomes analysis are also based on the other financial documents of the government such as the audit reports, the performance budgets and the appropriation accounts. 7

15 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Time Period of the Study As said earlier, the study was carried out for six consecutive years, from to The BE, RE and AE were analysed, the later only for the first four years, given the data availability. Constraints and Limitations The biggest handicap in undertaking BfC analysis work has been the mismatch of data pertaining to a particular scheme/programme in various budget documents. While the Detailed Demand of Grants provide the allocation and expenditure details, the Appropriation Accounts 2 provide the most important information regarding over spending and underspending and the reasons for the same. On some occasions, it has been found that there is difference in figures of Expenditure between the government s Appropriation Account and what has been mentioned in the Detailed Demand of Grants. The other major problem is faced in disaggregating resources only for children, as many schemes are designed for both women and children. For example, Relief and Rehabilitation for Rape Victims is a scheme which caters to the needs of both women and girl victims less than of 18 years. Similarly, it is not possible to disaggregate the exact allocation meant for children with disability form those meant for disabled persons. In such cases, we have decided to err on the side of excess and include the full amount in this analysis. A big roadblock is the lack of reliability of the socio-economic data as well as the government s own data on its achievements. 2 Appropriation Accounts means the accounts which indicate the expenditure (both Voted and Charged) of the government for each financial year compared with the amounts of voted grants and charged appropriations for different purposes, as specified in the Schedules appended to the Appropriation Act passed by Parliament. These Accounts are submitted to Parliament under Article 151 of the Constitution and are intended to disclose:- (a) that the moneys indicated therein as having been disbursed, were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they had been applied or charged; (b) that the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it (exceptions being listed out in the Appendix, referred to in the certificate mentioned in para (a)); (c) the effects of reappropriations ordered by the Ministry/Department. 8

16 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Key Statistics on Children in India 3 Indicator Status Source Child population (0 18 years) Children in the age group of 0 6 years Child-sex Ratio (number of females per 1000 males in the age group of 0 6 year) HEALTH Infant Mortality rate (Probability of dying before completing one year of life) Neo Natal Mortality Rate (Probability of children dying before completing four weeks of life) Under Five Mortality Rate (Probability of dying before reaching the age of five years) Fully immunized children Maternal Mortality Ratio (number of women aged years dying due to maternal causes per 1,00,000 live births) EDUCATION Total Enrolment at primary level (Classes I-V) Total Enrolment at upper primary level (Classes VI VIII) Per centage of Girls to total enrolment at primary level Per centage of Girls to total enrolment at upper primary level Gender Parity Index at primary level (Ratio of girls to boys in primary, education) Gender Parity Index at upper primary level (Ratio of girls to boys in upper primary education) 472 million 428 million million million (2012) 47 (2010) Census 2011 Census 2001 Census 2011 Census 2001 Census 2011 Census 2001 Sample Registration System 33 (2010) Sample Registration System 59 (2010) Sample Registration System 61% in the age group months 178 ( ) 212 ( ) million ( ) million ( ) million ( ) 54.4 million ( ) 57.8 million ( ) 64.9 million ( ) 48% ( ) 48% ( ) 48% ( ) 48% ( ) 48% ( ) 49% ( ) 0.94 ( ) 0.94 ( ) 0.94 ( ) 0.93 ( ) 0.94 ( ) 0.95 ( ) Coverage Evaluation Survey, 2009 Sample Registration System (SRS) The 3rd Year -The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development 3 India s reply to the list of issues and questions in relation to the combined 3 rd and 4 th periodic reports of India. 9

17 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Indicator Status Source Annual Average drop-out rate (Primary) Number of States that have banned corporal punishment under Right to Education Act, 2009 Per centage of schools with drinking water facility Per centage of schools with toilet facility Per centage of schools with ramp PROTECTION Murder of children Infanticide Rape of children Kidnapping and abduction of children Foeticide of children Exposure and abandonment of children Procuration of Minor Girls Buying of Girls for prostitution Selling of Girls for prostitution 9.1 ( ) 6.8 ( ) 5.6 ( ) ( ) 93 ( ) 95 ( ) 82 ( ) 84 ( ) 47 ( ) 50 ( ) 56 ( ) 1597 (2012) 1451 (2011) 1408 (2010) 81 (2012) 63 (2011) 100 (2010) 8541 (2012) 7112 (2011) 5484 (2010) (2012) (2011) (2010) 210 (2012) 132 (2011) 111 (2010) 821 (2012) 700 (2011) 725 (2010) 809 (2012) 862 (2011) 679 (2010) 15 (2012) 27 (2011) 78 (2010) 108 (2012) 113 (2011) 130 (2010) The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development The 3rd Year -The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Ministry of Human Resource Development Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau Crime in India 2010, 2011, 2012, National Crime Records Bureau 10

18 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Budget for Children to : An Overview The share of children ( to ) has remained less than 5 per cent of the Union Budget. (Figure 1.2) Other than BfC in Union Budget 4.59 BfC in Union Budget FIGURE 1.2 Average Share of BfC (BE) in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE 1.3 Share of BfC (BE) in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) What is more children s share has decreased TABLE 1.1 Share of BfC (BE) in Union Budget (Per cent) from when it was close to 6 per cent (Table 1.1 and Figure 1.3) However, over the years, there has been an increase in the share of budget for children. It is in that the share of BfC broke through NA 4 per cent barrier for the first time, and even NA NA touched 5.23 per cent share in Average (BE) Further, as per our previous analysis, we have tracked down the trend of financing for children in India since till , which does show a positive increase but given the increased focus on child rights, the government needs to put more emphasis in terms of financing and safeguarding the rights of children (Table 1.2). TABLE 1.2 Children s Share in Union Budget Year Share (in Per cent) to to to

19 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Allocation and Expenditure in Budget for Children (BfC) (BE, RE and AE) While the share of allocation for children within the overall Union Budget may have seen a fall since , the beginning of the study period, both the allocation and expenditure in real terms has increased although there was a small fall in BE in While in , the BE increased by per cent, AE increased by per cent (Figure 1.4). On an average, RE was per cent more than the BE over the years. While in , the RE was lower than the BE, in , the RE was over 100 per cent higher than BE and fell drastically the following year (see Table 1.5), only to be higher than BE again the following year FIGURE 1.4 BE, RE & AE In BfC ( to ) (` Crore) BE RE AE However, even more important is whether what is allocated in spent and what the trend of allocations and expenditure been across the three stages (BE, RE and AE). In the earlier years of BfC analysis it has been seen that the RE was almost always lower than the BE and the AE was lower than both BE and RE (Table 1.3). The available expenditure data of four years show that almost every year, the BfC (Figure 1.5) with an average under spending of almost 6 per cent over three years. In , the under spending was as high as per cent (Figure 1.4). TABLE 1.3 BE, RE & AE in BfC (` Crore) NA NA NA Average (BE) FIGURE 1.5 Expenditure (AE) in BfC ( to ) (Per cent) 12

20 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to In , AE experienced a significant under spending of per cent against the increased allocations at RE stage (Table 1.4). Such trends of under spending raise serious questions about the implementation of children centric programmes and efforts being made towards ensuring the well being of children of our country. TABLE 1.4 Allocation and Expenditure in BfC (` Crore) AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE (%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (BE) (uptill ) Average Expenditure (up till ) Rate of Change in BfC and Union Budget As we have seen that there has been 75 per cent increase in the allocation of children in actual terms, the average rate of change in BfC during to was per cent. On the other hand the average rate of change in the Union Budget was per cent during the same time period. In , while the BfC allocations rose by just 1.98 per cent against the previous year s allocations, the Union Budget allocations shot up by a significant per cent. Subsequently, in , the BfC allocation was reduced by 2.80 per cent and Union Budget allocation increased by per cent. What is more the rate of change in the BE and RE within BfC do not follow the same trend. In the year , allocation at RE stage were revised and increased by a huge per cent against previous year s as against of only 1.98 per cent increase in BE. The very next year the RE showed a negative growth rate while the BE increased by per cent (Table 1.5). TABLE 1.5 Rate of Change in BfC and Union Budget (BE) (Per cent) BfC Union Year BE RE AE BE RE AE NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (BE)

21 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Sectoral Share in Union Budget Despite falling child health conditions in the country, Child Health, on an average, received a meager 0.65 per cent share in the total Union Budget, whereas child education received the maximum share of 2.90 per cent in Union Budget. Child Development received an average share of 0.65 per cent and child protection continues to be on edge with the lowest share of 0.05 per cent in the Union Budget during the study period (Figure 1.6) Other than BfC Sector 0.65% Health 1.00 Development 2.90 Education 0.05 Protection What is more, the share of allocation for health has seen a decline over the years (Table 1.6). FIGURE 1.6 Average Sectoral Share in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) TABLE 1.6 Sectoral Budget (BE) within Union Budget and BfC (in per cent) Health Development Education Protection Year Union BfC Union BfC Union BfC Union BfC Average Sectoral Share in BfC 14 The trend of fund sharing among four sectors within BfC almost follows the same trend as it was in Union Budget. Child education receives the maximum attention in terms of financial resource allocation as it bags the maximum average share of per cent within the BfC during to Despite the growing concern of child health and child protection, these two sectors continue to be marginalised and thus, receive an average share of per cent and 1 per cent respectively (Figure 1.7). It almost comes as a surprise that how child protection has been ignored in terms of resource allocation especially after launching the umbrella scheme of ICPS and even Eleventh and Twelfth Five Year Plans have expressed the need of strengthen the child protection mechanisms in country Education 1.00 Protection Health Development FIGURE 1.7 Average Sectoral Share within BfC ( to ) (Per cent)

22 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Rate of Change in Sectoral Allocations While the Union Budget has seen an erratic trend of allocation every year, other sectors too have followed the same pattern. While, Union Budget has witnessed an average rate of change of per cent in allocations, only child development is the sector to observe a positive trend of allocations with an average rate of change of per cent. Child health sector observed the poorest average rate of change during the study period (Table 1.7). TABLE 1.7 Sectoral Rate of Change and Rate of Change in Union Budget and BfC (Per cent) Year Union BfC Health Development Education Protection Average On the other hand, the rate of change in BfC has shown a positive trend during the study period, but within BfC, the fund allocations have been very uneven with few sectors witnessing a negative growth over the years. On an average, BfC observed an average rate of change of per cent, whereas child helath and child education observed an average rate of change of just 8.22 per cent and 9.71 per cent respectively. Such trend of rate of change in allocations raises serious questions about the funds distribution among sectors within the BfC (Table 1.7). Sector-wise Expenditure Trend While evaluating the effectiveness of any budget, expenditure plays a vital role because it reflects the utilisation of financial resources laid down for any particular programme. If we look at the sectoral utilisation during these four years (for which the expenditure data is available), except child development sector, other three sectors have experienced the under expenditure during to This fact becomes more compelling especially when the Union Budget expenditure has witnessed over expenditure all through years, with an average over expenditure of 6.57 per cent. Worst of all, protection sector continues to remain on the edge with a significant average under expenditure of per cent during the study period (Table 1.8). TABLE 1.8 Sectoral Expenditure and Union Budget & BfC Expenditure (Per cent) Year Union BfC Health Development Education Protection Average

23 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights As Union Budget witnessed 6.57 per cent of average over expenditure over the years, on the other hand, BfC observed an average under expenditure of 5.74 per cent during to This under expenditure can further be explained in the light of secotral expenditure where, except child development, rest of the sectors observed heavy underspending; thus finally contributing to the heavy under expenditure in BfC (Table 1.8). Flagship Schemes That Are Showing Massive Under Spending ( to ) TABLE 1.9 Appropriation Account of Government of India ( to ) (` lakhs) Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess (+) Saving ( ) Routine Immunisation Programme Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai IEC RCH Project National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure ICPS Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai Routine Immunisation Programme National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-day Meals in Schools (National Component) Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) ICPS Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

24 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess (+) Saving ( ) Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme Routine Immunisation Programme Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (CMB Scheme) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-day Meals in Schools - Cost of Food Grains Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan General Component Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover ICPS Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai Routine Immunisation Programme Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers World Bank ICDS IV Project Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-day Meals in Schools (National Component) Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover ICPS

25 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Dependence on External Aid Programmes and schemes for children have a substantial external aid component (EAC). During to , an average of 5.30 per cent of total BfC financial resources were as a part of external aid (Figure 1.8). Talking of sectors, child health received the maximum share of external grants, whereas there was no externally aided component for Child Protection. An average of 3.51 per cent of the child health allocations within BfC was a part of External Aid (Figure 1.9) Share of EAC 3.51 Health Development 1.64 Education Other than EAC Other than EAC FIGURE 1.8 Share of EAC within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE1.9 Sectoral EAC Share within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) Of all sectors in BfC, 5000 health sector receives 4000 the maximum share of 3000 EAC with an average share of 3.51 per cent 2000 within BfC. The average 1000 share of EAC in health 0 sector for children was per cent. On the FIGURE 1.10 EAC in Child Budget (` crore) other hand, EAC education sector receives only 2.60 per cent in the total education budget In the child development sector, the most important contributor to external aid in this sector is the World Bank through its contribution to ICDS in the form of Grant in Aid. EAC constitutes an average of 0.62 per cent of the total child development sector budget. NA NA NA 18

26 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Conclusion Does the reducing share of financial resources for children within the over-all Union Budget reflect a falling concern for them in the country? Given the poor outcomes of child health that an increasing violence against children that the country is witnessing, how does the government rationalize and explain the poor allocations and the high under spending on these sectors? There is also a growing trend of moving towards the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model for services for children, leading to abdication of state responsibility. With the enactment of the Company (Corporate Social Responsibility policy) Rules, 2014, there is more money from the private sector available for social services. This should not lead to replacement of government by private sector. Instead it should be part of the pool or resources available to the government to be used to augment its own resources. Government must be accountable for utilisation of these resources. What children need is a political will from the planner and the government. Without adequate resources and accountable implementation of programmes and schemes, the promises being made, the laws and policies enacted remain as mere platitude. 19

27 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights CHAPTER TWO CHILD HEALTH India s health care system consists of a mix of public and private sector providers of health services. The total expenditure on health care in India, taking both public, private and household out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure Health should be viewed as not merely the absence of disease but as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Planning Commission. Twelfth Five Year Plan. Volume 3 was about 4.1 per cent of GDP in (National Health Accounts [NHA] 2009), which is broadly comparable to other developing countries, at similar levels of per capita income. The public expenditure on health was only about 27 per cent of the total in (NHA, 2009 and on Core Health (both plan and non-plan and taking the Centre and States together) was less than 1 per cent of GDP in It has increased to a mere 1.04 per cent during The Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan had said that accessibility to health care is a major issue especially in areas where habitations are scattered and women & children continue to die en route to hospitals. It further added that rural health care in most states is marked by absenteeism of doctors/ health providers, low levels of skills, shortage of medicines, inadequate supervision/monitoring and callous attitudes. There are neither rewards for service providers nor punishments for defaulters. 5 This was reiterated after five years in the Twelfth Five Year Plan document which once again admitted that the health system suffers from the following weaknesses availability of health services, quality and affordability. It also acknowledges that these problems are likely to worsen in future and health care costs are expected to rise. 6 The Planning Commission has also observed that the health outcome of the Eleventh Plan and of NRHM is constrained by lack of end-line data on most indicators. Analysis of available data reveals that though there has been progress, except on child-sex ratio, the goals have not been fully met. Despite efforts through the flagship of NRHM, wide disparity in attainments across states outlines the need for contextual strategies (accessed on ) ibid 7 (accessed on ). 20

28 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Thus, the health status of children in India in terms of Infant mortality rate, Under 5 mortality rate and morbidity remains a matter of concern. The National Population Policy 2000 identified adolescents as an underserved group for which health needs and within this reproductive and sexual health interventions are to be designed. Most of the specific intervention related to health of children is under the Reproductive and Child Health programme (RCH) II; and under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) programme. This includes measures to address disease control through immunisation as well as those for treatment and care. Status of Child Health in India Census figures show a continued decline in child sex ratios (0-6 age group), from 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 919 girls in According to SRS bulletin 2012 India s Infant mortality rate (IMR) is 42 per 1,000 lives. 9 At the National level, under-five mortality rate is estimated at 59 per 1,000 lives and it varies from 66 in rural areas to 38 in urban areas. Among the bigger States, it varies from 15 in Kerala to 83 in Assam. 10 India continues to lose more than 400,000 children to Pneumonia and Diarrhoea before their fifth birthday due to these two preventable diseases. 11 India contributes to more than 20 per cent of the world s child deaths, with approximately 1.73 million, children dying annually before completing their fifth birthday (under 5 mortality rate)- most of them due to preventable causes. 12 India s neo-natal mortality rate is 33 in 2010 and it ranges from 19 in urban areas to 36 in rural areas. This means at nationally 33 infant dying before reaching 28 days of age, per 1,000 live births. 13 Early neo-natal mortality rate for the year 2010 has been estimated at 25 and ranges from 28 in rural areas to 15 in urban areas, i.e., number of infant deaths less than seven days of life per 1,000 live births 14. Almost 47 per cent of girls in the age group of 11 to 19 years are underweight. Adolescents with correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS is 35 per cent in boys and 28 per cent in girls. 15 Adolescent Health: The Gap no one Talks about! 15 Adolescents constitute about 21 per cent of the population. 16 However, it has been observed that there is a lack of services that respond to their distinctive needs. In fact, when child health is referred to, it is almost always interventions for that focus on the 0 6 year age group. Adolescents age out of pediatric health care and often remain unreached by programmes for adults. Since they are neither infants nor adults and, although fall within the definition of child, without specific health interventions designed for their needs, fall between the cracks (accessed on ). 9 (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 11 International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report (accessed on ). 12 UNICEF, the State of the World Children s Report 2012: Children in an Urban World. (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) Bharti Mehta, Amandeep Kaur, Vijay Kumar and Sumit Chawla, Manisha Malik and She Kharti. Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health in India: The Need to Focus. (accessed on ). 21

29 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Moreover, as has been pointed out by Gupta, Ramani and Soors, in India, components of adolescent health are being looked after by separate ministries and departments. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) focuses on delivering adolescent health services. The Adolescent Education Programme (AEP) and sex education come under the Department of Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD), while its earlier version SAEP was administered by National AIDS Control Organization. The programme on nutrition and counseling of adolescent girls Kishori Shakti Yojana is being looked after by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) under its Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). The National Youth Policy 2003, of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) recognises adolescents (15 19 years) as distinct from the youth (20 35 years age). Thus each ministry is looking after one component of adolescent health. 18 It is perhaps in recognition of this that the Government of India has launched a Programme called the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram or the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) Programme under National Rural Health Mission as a part of RCH II. The special interventions for adolescents was in anticipation of the following expected outcomes: delay age of marriage, reduce incidence of teenage pregnancies, meet unmet contraceptive needs and reduce the number of maternal deaths, reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and reduce the proportion of HIV positive cases in the years age group. However, included as part of the larger RCH II initiative, there is no specific budget line for this programme. Several of the initiatives addressing adolescents that fall within the other ministries have been included in the section on education (The Adolescent Education Programme) and development (Kishori Shakti Yojana). Share of Health in Union Budget and BfC 0.65 Child Health Child Health Other than Child Health Other than Child Health FIGURE 2.1 Average Share of Child Health (BE) in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE 2.2 Average Share of Child Health (BE) within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) Despite a 42 per cent increase in the actual allocations (BE) in children s health initiatives, the proportionate share of budget allocation for the health sector for children is a mere is 0.65 per cent 18 Mona Gupta, K. V. Ramani, Werner Soors Adolescent Health in India: Still at Crossroads. 22

30 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to of the Union Budget during to and within BfC, it is per cent (Figure 2.1 & 2.2). What is of even greater concern is that the share of allocations shows a significant decline during the period of our study (Figure 2.3 and Table 2.1) both within the Union Budget as well as within BfC. The share of child health in the total Union Budget has declined, from 0.87 per cent in to 0.58 per cent in And within BfC, it reduced to per cent in from per cent in Given the government s own recognition of the problems in the health system and its impact (as we saw above) this is difficult to explain Health (BE) in Union Budget Health (BE) within BfC FIGURE 2.3 Share of Health (BE) in Union Budget & BfC ( to ) ( Per cent) Of every 100 rupee, an average of only 65 paise is provided for the health needs of the country s children. Over the years there has been a fall in share for the heath sector for children. How can this be explained? TABLE 2.1 Share of Health BE within Union Budget and BfC Year Health BE (` crore) Union Budget BE (` crore) BfC BE (` crore) Share of Health (BE) in Union Budget (per cent) Share of Health BE within BfC (per cent) Average Rate of Change in Child Health Sector The annual rate of change in the child health sector shows an erratic trend throughout the period of study which is difficult to explain given the consistent need and indeed growing need for investment in children in view of the constantly growing health challenges. Child health observed an average rate of change of 8.22 per cent in terms of allocations during the study period and has shown inconsistent and erratic trend of allocations. In , there was a meagre 1.64 per cent increase in child health BE against allocation and in , 23

31 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights BE rose to a significant 9.89 per cent against , and further, in the year , the allocations rose up by per cent against previous year s allocation. It is also important to closely analyse the rate of change in child health allocations in comparison with the Union Budget and BfC allocations rate of change. Comparing these three, while in , BE for Union Budget increased by a significant per cent against previous year, the BfC BE increased by 1.98 per cent and the child Health BE increased by a mere 1.64 per cent against previous year s allocation. If we look at the annual rate of change of union budget, BfC and Child Health budget, it gives a very erratic trend and allocations are not found to be in synchrony with each other. Such inconsistency also indicates towards imbalanced approach towards planning for child health (Table 2.2). TABLE 2.2 Rate of Change in Union Budget, BfC and Child Health Budget (Per cent) Union BfC Child Health BE RE AE BE RE AE NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 2.40 NA NA Average (BE) The inconsistent rate of change in allocations continued with allocations increasing by just 2.40 per cent against previous year s allocations. In this year, many schemes under RCH like Pulse Polio Programme, Routine Immunisation Programme, Information, Education & Communication (IEC) RCH project etc. did not observe any allocations separately and were merged with RCH Flexi Pool and yet a very small allocation was made that year. Similarly there is a fall at RE stage the percentage showed a declining trend from 8.32 per cent of increase in over the previous year to only a 0.13 per cent increase in over Allocation & Expenditure under Child Health Sector While in actual terms the allocation (BE) for the child health sector has increased by per cent over the six years (Figure 2.4), its share in the overall Union Budget has reduced. It is only in the last two years of our study i.e., in that there has been a significant increase in allocation (almost 22 per cent) (Figure 2.4). 24

32 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to FIGURE 2.4 BE, RE & AE in Child Health ( ` crore) BE RE AE This sudden increase in the rate of change in child health allocations in , can be attributed to higher allocations in few of the schemes under Reproductive and Child health like Information, Education and Communication (IEC) RCH Project, Training, Routine Immunisation Programme etc. All these schemes have also seen a good amount of allocation for Special Component Plan for Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribes Area Sub Plan. Between and the increase in allocations was only 1.63 per cent which further rose up by 9.89 per cent in The revised estimate has been lower than the budget estimate during the five year period of study except in the allocation at RE stage was slightly higher than the BE stage. On an average RE has been 5.4 per cent less than the BE. Over the years for which data is available, less than per cent of what was allocated has been spent FIGURE 2.5 Expenditure (AE) in Child Health ( to ) (Per cent) The actual expenditure (AE) was consistently lower than the BE showing low utilisation of resources for health sector programmes despite requirement of better health services for children across the country (Figure 2.5 & Table 2.3). The AE has been also lower than the RE in all the years Expenditure (AE) 25

33 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights TABLE 2.3 Allocation and Expenditure in Health Sector (` crore) AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE (%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average ( to ) Table 2.4 shows the programmes and schemes where there was under-spending, which the appropriation accounts describe as saving. It must be of course pointed out that the saving of resources also means that this amount was not invested in the implementation of planned programmes and interventions, denying children the benefit from them. TABLE 2.4. Appropriation Account of Government of India ( to ) (` Lakh) Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess (+) Saving (-) Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai IEC on PNDT Act Kalawati Saran Children s Hospital, New Delhi RCH Expenditure at Headquarters IEC RCH Project Training in RCH RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme Routine Immunisation Programme Procurement of Drugs & Equipments (other than Vaccines etc.) Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai IEC on PNDT Act Kalawati Saran Children s Hospital, New Delhi RCH Expenditure at Headquarters Training in RCH Procurement of Drugs and Equipments (other than Vaccines etc.) RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme Routine Immunisation Programme

34 B U D G ET F O R C H I L D R EN I N I N D I A t o Year Total Grant Actual Expenditure Kalawati Saran Children s Hospital, New Delhi Procurement of Drugs and Equipments (other than Vaccines etc.) IEC on PNDT Act IEC RCH Project Training in RCH Scheme Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai IEC on PNDT Act RCH Expenditure at Headquarters RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme Routine Immunisation Programme Manufacture of Sera/Vaccine B.C.G. Vaccine Laboratory, Guindy, Chennai Excess (+) Saving ( ) Procurement of Drugs & Equipments (other than Vaccines etc.) Routine Immunisation Programme Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme RCH Expenditure at Headquarters RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs Assistance from UNICEF Sunday Times of India, New Delhi July 17,

35 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights A Closer Look at the Schematic Allocations under the Child Health Sector National Rural Health Mission National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 to provide effective health care to the rural population throughout the country with special focus on 18 states having weak public health indicators and/or weak health infrastructure. It was launched with the objective of improving the access to quality healthcare especially for the rural women and children and in strengthening of health infrastructure, capacity building, and decentralised planning. 19 The mission targets are set to provide universal access to rural people to effective, equitable, affordable and accountable primary healthcare. Some of the strategies employed by the mission to achieve its goals were: a. promoting access to improved healthcare at household level through ASHAs, b. strengthening sub-centres, PHCs and CHCs, c. preparing and implementing of inter-sectoral district health plans and integrating vertical health programmes at all levels, and d. envisaging health plan for each village through the Village Health Committee, etc 20. As part of the infrastructure strengthening under the NRHM, 10,473 sub-centres, 714 primary health centres (PHCs), and 245 community health centres (CHCs) have been newly constructed. A total of 8,199 PHCs have been made functional as 24X7 services across the country. Further, nearly 2,024 vehicles are operational as mobile medical units (MMUs) in 459 districts in the country under the NRHM. 21 The community based functionaries, named as Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) have been envisaged under the NRHM as a first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who were finding it difficult to access health services. In India, public health nursing in the villages today is still limited to services rendered by Multipurpose Health Worker (Female) [MPHW(F)] or Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM). ANMs are regarded as the first contact person between people and organisation, between needs and services and between consumer and provider. Their services are considered essential to provide safe and effective care and as a vital resource to achieve the health-related targets. NRHM provides that the ANMs will have the support of 4-5 ASHA and the AWWs in discharging her duties and the role envisaged in the mission (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 21 Economic Survey of India (accessed on ). 22 Malik Geeta, Role of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in National Rural Health Mission, March 2009 VOL C No. 3, The Nursing Journal of India; (accessed on ). 28

36 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to For such significant position of the ANMs a sum total of ` crore were floated under Training of ANM programme over the period of six years of study. This programme observed an average under spending of about 3 per cent till the year Reproductive and Child Health Programme The Reproductive and Child Health programme (RCH) II under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) addresses the factors contributing the Infant and under-five mortality including. The major components of child health programme are: I. Establishment of New Born Care facilities and Facility Based Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (F-IMNCI), II. Navjaat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, III. Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) and Pre- Service IMN- CI Home Based Care of Newborns, IV. Universal Immunisation, V. Early detection and appropriate management of Acute Respiratory Infections, Diarrhoea and other infections, VI. Infant and young child feeding including promotion of breast feeding, VII. Management of children with malnutrition, VIII. Vitamin A supplementation and Iron and Folic Acid supplementation. Facilities for care of Sick Newborn such as Special New Born Care Units (SNCUs), New Born Stabilization Units (NBSUs) and New Born Baby Corners (NBCCs) are being set up at different levels in the country. So far, 388 SNCUs are now functioning in the country. There are at present 1,542 NBSUs established at Community Health centres/frus and there are 11,458 functional NBCCs in the country. 23 For under 5 mortality rate Home Based New Born Care (HBNC) scheme has been launched to incentivize ASHA for providing Home Based Newborn Care. ASHA will make visits to all newborns according to specified schedule up to 42 days of life and an incentive of `50 will be provided per home visit of around one hour duration. Another scheme to treat severe acute malnutrition amongst children is Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC), 577 Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers have been operationalized in the country till September A New initiative Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) was launched on 1st June 2011 and has provision for both pregnant women and sick new born till 30 days after birth. The initiative would promote institutional delivery, eliminate out of pocket expenses which act as a barrier to seeking institutional care for mothers and sick new borns and facilitate prompt referral through free 23 (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 29

37 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights transport. More than `1,437 crore have been allocated to the States for the year for providing free entitlements under JSSK. While `2, crore have been approved for Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme With the global initiative of eradication of polio in 1988 following World Health Assembly resolution in 1988, Pulse Polio Immunisation programme was launched in India in by the Government of India, in co-operation with international agencies, state governments and non-government/voluntary organizations. PPI was initiated with the objective of achieving hundred per cent coverage under Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and aims to reach the unreached children. 27 Children in the age group of 0-5 years administered polio drops during National and Sub-national Immunisation rounds (in high risk areas) every year. About 172 million children are immunised during each National Immunisation Day (NID). Achievements/ Status ( ) As per the reported data of Health Management Information System (HMIS) antigen wise all India coverage is as follows: BCG 90.93% DPT % OPV % The last polio case in the country was reported from Howrah district of West Bengal with date of onset 13 January Thereafter no polio Measles Full Immunisation JE Vaccine (As on 02nd November, 2012) 85.57% 84.02% 21.75% case has been reported in the country (25th May 2012). World Health Organisation Source: Review Performance, Chapter 4, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (WHO) on 24th February 2012 removed India from the list of countries with active endemic wild polio virus transmission. 28 The Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme is funded both from Indian budget and externally Aided projects. External funding is received from World Bank and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) (German Development Bank). 29 The allocation for this programme has decreased from `1, crore in to ` crore in Throughout the study period the amount was highest in which was `1, crore. Under the NRHM-RCH Flexible pool head an amount of ` crore was allocated in for this programme as Grant in Aid General and a separate allocation of ` crore was made for Supplies and Material under the same head. The actual expenditure under this scheme had remained very inconsistent, in the first two years i.e and the expenditure had seen over spending of the budget but the follow (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 30

38 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to ing years i.e and observed an under spending of the resources. An average amount of ` crore was allocated from to and the average expenditure for the same period was ` crore so the difference is very low in terms of average allocation and expenditure. As per the Appropriation account of and , the saving occurred under this scheme was due to requirement of fewer funds towards operating cost of Pulse Polio Programme owing to less number of National Immunisation Days/Sub-National Immunisation Days. 30 Routine Immunisation Programme Immunisation Programme is one of the key interventions for protection of children from life threatening conditions, which are preventable. It is one of the largest Immunisation programme in the world and a major public health intervention in the country. Immunisation Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI). As per our study the budgetary provision received under this scheme both from Govt. of India and international collaboration (known as Externally Aided projects) have substantially gone down by per cent in (from `615 crore in to ` crore in and `450 crore in ). In the allocation rose little higher than the previous financial years to ` crore then again it dropped to ` crore in and surprisingly there no allocation for the for this Scheme. In , Routine Immunisation programme received an amount of `6.15 crore under NRHM- RCH Flexible Pool as Grant in Aid general. And under Supplies & Material head a sum of ` crore was allocated. Despite, such drastic fall in the budgetary allocation, the actual expenditure continued to be lower in all the four years from to In , out of `615 crore only ` crore was spent. As per Appropriation account the saving occurred in due to non-approval of the Hepatitis B scheme by the Cabinet. In and , the saving occurred due to non-approval of the pentavalent vaccine scheme by the government and less procurement of Cold Chain Equipments and Routine Vaccine on account of retendering. Only in the resource utilisation was little better out of ` crore, the total expenditure was ` crore. So an average of ` crore was allocated from to and out of which an average of ` crore was spent which per cent and rest of the funds remained as saving. Share of Externally Aided Component (EAC) The budget for children s health is heavily dependent on external aid, with more than one of its budget coming from it. Of all sectors in BfC, health sector receives the maximum share of external aid (EAC). 30 Appropriation Account and MHFW (accessed on ) 31

39 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights During our period of study from to , the average share of EAC in health sector for children was almost 25 per cent. In other words, more than one fourth of the allocations made for the health sector for children came from external aid. Scheme like RCH flexible pool for state PIPs, Pulse Polio Programme, Routine Immunisation Programme, and Supply of Vaccine under these two schemes receive major foreign assistance EAC in Child Health Other than Child Health FIGURE 2.6 Average Share of EAC in Health ( to ) (per cent) The share of EAC in BE in was 33 per cent (`2, crore), which further kept on rising in the following financial years to 38 per cent in However, the share had went down drastically to 11 per cent (to `1, crore) and even decreased further in about 6 per cent (to ` crore). More than one fourth of the allocations made for the health sector for children came from external aid. The average share of actual spending on child health EAC was per cent. In , the share of AE that came from external aid was more than the share of BE that came from EAC (BE was `2, and AE was `3,139.99). TABLE 2.5 Externally-Aided Components in Child Health EAC in Health (` Crore) Share of EAC in Health (Per cent) BE RE AE NA NA NA NA 5.82 NA NA Average Conclusion Despite such consistent assistance and allocations, the major schemes remain marred by poor implementation strategies and under spending. Now, when the whole globe is putting much focus on Post MDG Agenda, India is still lagging behind and is yet to achieve the MDG goals and 100 per cent Immunisation. 32

40 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to ANNEXURE Child Health Kalawati Saran Childrens Hospital, New Delhi (` thousands) NA NA NA Upgradation/Strengthening of Nursing Services (ANM/GNM) (New) (` thousands) NA NA NA IEC-Adolescent Health (RCH) (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs (` thousands) NA NA NA 33

41 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Routine Immunisation Programme (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH-Expenditure at Headquarters (` thousands) NA NA NA Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH Flexible Pool (NRHM) (` thousands) NA NA NA 34

42 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Pulse Polio Immunisation Prog. GIA (NRHM) (` thousands) NA NA NA Material Assistance for Strengthening of National Immunisation Programme and Polio Eradication (` thousands) NA NA NA Pulse Polio Immunisation Prog (Supplies & Material) NRHM-RCH Flexible Pool (` thousands) NA NA NA Lady Reading Health School & Ram Chand Lohia Infant Welfare Centre (` thousands) NA NA NA 35

43 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Upgradation/Strengthening of Nursing Services (ANM/GNM) (New) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA IEC-Adolescent Health (RCH) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH Flexible Pool for State PIPs (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Training in RCH (` thousands) NA NA NA Procurement of Drugs & Equipment (other than Vaccines etc) (` thousands) NA NA NA 36

44 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme (operating cost) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Pulse Polio Immunisation Prog. GIA (NRHM) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Supply of Vaccine under Routine Immunisation (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA NRHM-Training of ANM/LHVs (GIA) (` thousands) NA NA NA Child Care Training Centre Singur Total (` thousands) NA NA NA 37

45 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights IEC (RCH) Project (` thousands) NA NA NA IEC on PNDT Act (` thousands) NA NA NA Training of ANM/LHV (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH Research & Study Activities (` thousands) NA NA NA Strengthening of Maternal Health & Child Health wing/hospitals and other wings (` thousands) NA NA NA 38

46 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to RCH Purchase & Supply of materials (` thousands) NA NA NA Routine Immunisation Prog (NRHM) (` thousands) NA NA NA Supply of RCH Drugs & Equipments (` thousands) NA NA NA Supply of Vaccine under PPI Programme (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA RCH Flexible Pool (NRHM) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 39

47 40 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights

48 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to CHAPTER THREE CHILD DEVELOPMENT With special focus on early childhood care and development, HAQ s analysis of the budget for the child development sector also includes those schemes which do not fit in other sectors but are meant for overall development of children such as Sabala for adolescent girls and Saksham for adolescent girls. Status of child development in India As per NFHS per cent of children under the age of five years are underweight for their age. 31 More than half (54 per cent) of all deaths before the age five years in India are related to malnutrition. 32 Seven out of every 10 children age 6-59 months in India are anaemic. Three per cent of children age 6-59 months is (the age of 5 years) severely anaemic, 40 per cent are moderately anaemic, and 26 per cent are mildly anaemic. 33 Only 25 per cent of newborns were put to the breast within one hour of birth. Less than half of children (46 per cent) under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. India has the highest number of low birth weight babies per year at an estimated 7.4 million. As per the Lok Sabha unstarred question # 1228 dated 13 August 2013, India s birth registration is 81.3 per cent. Share of Development Sector As our study shows, development sector was allocated an average of 1 per cent in the Union Budget during to Within the budget for children (BfC), the share has been almost 22 per cent in the same period (Figure 3.1 & 3.2) (accessed on ). 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 41

49 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights 1.00 Child Development 1.00 Other than Child Development Child Development Other than Child Development FIGURE 3.1 Average Share of Development BE in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE 3.2 Average Share of Development BE within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) Even while there has been an increase in allocation in real terms, as a share within the Union Budget and the BfC, and as a share between to , there are years which have seen fall in the share of allocations in comparison to the preceding year ( and ) (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.1). Of every 100 Rupees allocated in the Union Budget, 1 rupee is for children s development programmes Development (BE) in Union Budget Development (BE) within BfC FIGURE 3.3 Share of Development (BE) in Union Budget and BfC ( to ) (in Per cent) TABLE 3.1 Share of Development BE within Union Budget and BfC Year Development BE(`crore) Union Budget BE (`crore) BfC BE (`crore) Share of Development (BE) in Union Budget (Per Cent) Share of Development (BE) within BfC (Per cent)

50 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Year Development BE(`crore) Union Budget BE (`crore) BfC BE (`crore) Share of Development (BE) in Union Budget (Per cent) Share of Development (BE) within BfC (Per cent) Average Rate of Change in Child Development The average rate of change from to at BE stage was per cent ranging from 7.76 between and to almost 50 per cent between and for BE. The rate of change is impacted by the increase in allocations or spending such as the increase in and was due to increase in allocation for the State government, Union Territories and for the North Eastern & Sikkim Area as also the Special Component for schedule Caste and Tribal Area Sub Plan. The rate of change in the RE and the AE stage does not follow the same patterns. The rate of change in RE in (by per cent) over the preceding year was due to higher allocation for the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in the State Government, Union Territories and Northeastern Areas from ` crore (including State Govt, UTs & Northeastern) to ` crore (Table 3.2). TABLE 3.2 Rate of Change in Union Budget, BfC and Child Development Budget (Per cent) Union BfC Child Development BE RE AE BE RE AE NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (BE) Allocation & Expenditure under Child Development The allocation for development (BE and RE as well as actual expenditure (AE) has seen a consistent rise over the years Figure 4.4. Some years have seen a substantial increase such as in there was a sudden hike of per cent with increased allocations for ICDS, Under ICDS Supplementary Nutrition and World Bank Assisted ICDS project IV, SABLA and Conditional Maternity Benefits Scheme (IGMSY), under 43

51 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights FIGURE 3.4 BE,RE & AE in Child Development (` Crore) BE RE AE Grant in Aid to State government, Union Territories and North eastern & Sikkim Area. The following financial year i.e., , it increased by per cent (`1, crore) (Figure 3.4). Revised Estimates (RE) in and was higher than the BE. However, rest of the years RE head had remained lower than BE. During our study we have found that there has been over spending with respect to both at the BE as well as RE. There has been an average of per cent over spending till which means that the actual expenditure (AE) has been more than allocation (BE) in most years for the child development sector (in the BE was `6, crore whereas the AE was ` , which is 0.5 per cent over spending and in the AE was 19 per cent more than BE) (Table 3.3). This over spending might be because of excess expenditure in Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers. The only year that observed an under spending/ saving of the allocated funds was (0.2 per cent under spending) FIGURE 3.5 Expenditure (AE) in Child Development ( to ) (Per cent) TABLE 3.3 Allocation and Expenditure in Development Sector (`crore) AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE (%)

52 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE (%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (till ) Table 3.4 shows the programmes and schemes where there was under-spending, which the appropriation accounts describe as saving. It must be of course pointed out that the saving of resources also means that this amount was not invested in the implementation of planned programmes and interventions, denying children the benefit from them. TABLE 3.4 Appropriation Account of Government of India ( to ) (` lakhs) Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess + Saving National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Integrated Education in Nutrition National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD) Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (CMB Scheme) Integrated Education in Nutrition Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) World Bank ICDS IV Project Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (CMB Scheme)

53 46 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights

54 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to A Closer Look at the Schematic Allocations under the Child Development Sector Integrated Child Development Scheme The Ministry of Women and Child Development has the responsibility to ensure the rights of the child to life and survival, enhancing physical, psychological cognitive development and emotional and social wellbeing, access to nutrition education and health care. Integrated Child Development Scheme is the largest flagship programme for Early Childhood Development aiming at improving the nutritional and health status of children from 0-6 years of age group. ICDS was launched in 1975 in 33 blocks (projects) with 4,891 AWCs 34. It also has a component addressed to the adolescent girls and lactating mothers. There were 7,076 ICDS Projects with lakh Anganwadi Centres/mini-Anganwadi Centres sanctioned as on 31 December Some reasons attributed for under-spending/saving in ICDS: Non-receipt of complete proposals from the States and concerned organizations Receipt of less viable proposals. Non-holding of award function for Anganwadi workers and availability of unspent balances with Life Insurance Corporation. Delay in receipt of inward claims. As on 31 January 2013, 7,025 projects and 13,31,076 AWCs are operational across 35 States/UTs, covering lakh beneficiaries under supplementary nutrition and lakh 3-6 years children under pre-school component. 35 Although ICDS has the potential to impact reduction of mortality, morbidity and under nutrition amongst children and pregnant women, its impact on child survival and development has not been convincing, provoking debate and questions over its service delivery and quality. Although the services are much in demand, they have been generally poorly delivered and uncoordinated. 36 As per the Appropriation account , there was a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs), which was due to non-receipt of complete proposals from the States and concerned organisations. In , saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) occurred due to receipt of less viable proposals from States and Union Territories (without legislature), non-holding of award function for Anganwadi workers and availability of unspent balances with Life Insurance Corporation. In saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) was due to delay in receipt of inward claims from Union Territories of Chandigarh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and in saving ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) was due to delay in receipt of claims from Union territory of Delhi and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 35 Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 36 Report of the Sub-Groups on Child Rights for 12th Five Year Plan (accessed on ). 37 Appropriation Account ( to )- Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 47

55 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights As per economic survey of India , ICDS has been now universalised with cumulative approval of 7076 projects and 14 lakh AWCs including 20,000 anganwadis on demand. A proposal for strengthening and restricting of the ICDS scheme with an overall budget allocation of `1, crore during Twelfth plan has been approved and will be rolled out in all the districts in three years. Greater emphasis is being laid on awareness generation, convergence with the MGNREGA, and MIS-based monitoring. 38 The World Bank Assisted ICDS-IV Project Since 1980, when the World Bank began supporting ICDS, it has completed six projects in support in an effort to contribute to improving malnutrition and early childhood development in India. The Government of India has now expressed strong interest in continuing the World Bank support for the next five-year cycle, which is referred as the ICDS IV project for the period to The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved implementation of the International Development Association (World Bank) assisted ICDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) in its meeting held on 4 October 2012, with a total outlay of `2,893 crore over 7 years. The cost sharing ratio for the project between the World Bank and Government of India is 70:30 and that between GoI and States is 90:10. The project is proposed to be implemented in 162 districts having higher proportion of malnourished children in eight States, viz. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh along with urban pilots in and around NCR of Delhi and convergent nutrition actions pilots in some selected districts in two other States viz., Odisha and Uttarakhand. For this, in the Annual Plan , an amount of ` crore (with `71.96 crore as EAP Component) was allocated at BE stage. However, the amount was reduced to `8.00 crore at RE stage, against which expenditure for an amount of `7.79 crore (97 per cent of RE) has been incurred till 8 March As per Appropriation Account of MWCD, in , under World Bank ICDS IV Project a sum of ` lakhs remained wholly unutilized due to non-receipt of approval from the Planning Commission. The anganwadi centre, set up under the ICDS, is the nodal body for a number of other initiatives. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) SABLA Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls-Sabla was introduced in It is a comprehensive scheme for the holistic development of adolescent girls. Sabla is being implemented 38 Economic Survey of India (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 48

56 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to in 205 selected districts across the country, using the ICDS platform. In these districts, Sabla has replaced the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) and Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY). In the non-sabla districts, KSY continues as before. Sabla is being implemented through the State Governments/UTs with 100 per cent financial assistance from the Central Government for all inputs other than nutrition provision for which 50 per cent Central assistance is provided to States. Anganwadi Centre is the focal point for the delivery of the services. Sabla aims at an all-round development of adolescent girls (AGs) of years by making them self reliant by facilitating access to learning, health and nutrition through various interventions such as health, education, vocational training etc. The scheme would also mainstream out of school girls to formal and nonformal education. The scheme has two major components, nutrition and non-nutrition. Nutrition is being given in the form of take home rations or hot cooked meals to out of school year old girls and all adolescent girls in the age group. The non-nutrition component addresses the developmental needs of year old adolescent girls who are provided iron-folic acid supplement, health check up, referral services, counseling/guidance on family welfare, skill education etc. Against the annual target of 1 crore for nutrition beneficiaries under SABLA, up till the end of December, 2012, lakh beneficiaries have been covered for nutrition under SABLA. A Budget provision of ` crore has been earmarked for SABLA for As per Economic Survey of India , `496 crore has been released to states/uts benefiting lakh adolescent girls as on 31 December As per Appropriation Account of , this observed a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) was due to delay in receipt of approval of the scheme from Committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministries. In , there was a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) was due to non-implementation of a new scheme by the state governments. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Boys (RGSEAB) SAKSHAM (New Scheme) SAKSHAM (meaning the self-reliant individual) is a centrally sponsored scheme designed and launched as part of the Twelfth Five Year Plan in recognition of the going need to address the needs of adolescent Boys. The scheme was be operational on a pilot basis in 20 districts from Seven states/ UTs viz. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, UP and Sikkim. The scheme was be implemented by the state government for which the government and States/UTs will share the cost in ratio of 75:25, except in case of North Eastern State (Sikkim), where the share of Centre and State/UT will be in the ratio of 90:10 of the financial norms Children in India A Statistical Approach ; Chapter 2; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; mospi_new/upload/children_in_india_2012.pdf (accessed on ) accessed on (accessed on ). 49

57 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights The scheme aims at all round development Adolescent Boys to make them self-reliant, gender sensitive and aware, when they grow up. The scheme is designed to cover all Adolescent boys (both school going and out of school) in the age-group of 11 to 18 years. The scheme was to be implemented using the platforms of Integrated Child Services Scheme. Once again the Anganwadi centres are the focal point for the delivery of services. The basic services to be given to adolescent boys under the scheme are gender sensitization, capacity building Ahimsa Messenger, IFA Supplementation, health check-up and referrals, mental health counseling, nutrition & health Education (NHE) & counseling on ARSH, sports and constructive recreation, vocational training & career counselling for boys aged 16 and above, under National, Skill Development Program (NSDP), life skill/soft-skill/moral education and exposure visits to public services institutions and Youth volunteering & training through NGOs. 44 A total sum of `0.1 crore was allocated in the year , which increased to `18 crore in and a budgetary provision of `2 crore was for the Northern Eastern and Sikkim Area. 45 Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) erstwhile Conditional Maternity Benefi t (CMB) This is a new scheme for pregnant and lactating women introduced in Under this Scheme, a cash incentive of `4,000 will be provided directly to women 19 years and above for the first two live births subject to the woman fulfilling specific conditions relating to maternal child health and nutrition. Cash incentive is to be provided in three installments, between the second trimesters of pregnancy till the infant completes 6 months of age. 46 The scheme would contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers and would address short term income support. The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to Pregnant & lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child. 47 IGMSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under which full grant-in-aid would be provided to State government (SGs)/Union Territories (UTs). This scheme is being implemented on pilot basis in 52 selected districts across the country and using the platform of ICDS. The focal point of implementation is the Anganwadi Centre (AWC). 48 As on 31 December 2012, total fund released under this scheme was ` lakhs and total utilised funds was ` lakhs. So far total number of beneficiaries covered in was 368, plans/planrel/app11th_24.pdf 45 ibid (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 50

58 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to As per Appropriation account, in there was non-utilisation/saving of ` lakhs occurred (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) due to delay in receipt of approval of scheme from the Planning Commission. In , there was a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) due to non-implementation of a new scheme by the state governments. Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers According to the Government of India, this programme has been conceived to address the increased opportunities for employment for women and the need to supplement household income, more and more women are entering the job market. 50 This is because, with the breaking up of joint family system and the increased phenomenon of nuclear families, working women need support in terms of quality, substitute, and care for their young children while they are at work. Crèche and Daycare Services are not only required by working mothers but also women belonging to poor families, who require support and relief from child care as they struggle to cope with burden of activities, within and outside the home. This scheme is designed to provide daycare to children in the age group 0-6 years from families with monthly income of less than 12,000. The crèche is to be a safe space for the children as also provide services such supplementary nutrition, pre-school education and emergency health care, etc. 51 This scheme is being implemented through the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB), Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) AND Bhartiya Adim Jati Sewak Sangh (BAJSS). 52 Due to complaints regarding irregularities in management of crèches by BAJSS, 5,522 crèches were temporarily transferred to CSWB with effect from 18th Monitoring of crèches November, The number of functional crèches and total beneficiaries till 28 February TABLE 3.5 Number of Functional Crèches Sl.No. Name of Agency Number of Crèches 1 CSWB BAJSS (Temporarily transferred to CSWB) ICCW 5191 Total TABLE 3.6 Total Number of Beneficiaries Year Allocation (`crore) Sanctioned (`crore) No. of Beneficiaries Although this is the scheme where the actual spending (AE) has been higher than allocation in some years (BE), the allocation under the scheme has seen a decline (accessed on ). 51 Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 52 Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 53 Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 51

59 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights When there has been under spending or non utilisation of allocated budget, this as per the Appropriation Accounts was due to, as with ICDS, non-receipt of viable proposals or non-receipt of proposals from the states. The excess was due to the re-appropriation of funds. In , there was a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) due to non-receipt of sufficient number of viable proposals. In , there was an excess expenditure of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) which is due to re-appropriation of funds from Northeastern & Sikkim Area to functional heads for utilisation on schemes for the benefit of North Eastern Region and Sikkim. In , saving of ` lakhs occurred (against the total sanctioned provision of ` lakhs including token supplementary grant of 1.00 lakh) due to delay in receipt of proposals. 54 External Aid in Development Sector As compared to the share of external aid or the external aid component (EAC) share in the Child Development Sector is low. The most important contributor to external aid in this sector is the World Bank through its contribution to ICDS in the form of Grant in Aid. An average of `0.68 per cent share within the total child development, was received during to In the first two year of the study, no external aid was received for child development programmes. Only from , development sector started receiving EAC share for the scheme World Bank Assisted ICDS Programme/World Bank ICDS IV Project and World Bank Assisted ICDS Programme Grant in Aid to State Government. In , a total share of EAC under BE head was `88 crore, which rose much high in the next financial year up to `231 crore. This rise in external aid component was to resource the universalisation of the ICDS Programme and also to meet the maximum target that was been planned EAC in Child Development Other than EAC in Child development FIGURE 3.6 Average Share of EAC in Development BE ( to ) (Per cent) However, the EAC component has shown an erratic trend in allocation. But in the financial year it dropped to `71.96 crore. Again in the following year i.e it increased significantly up to `102.2 crore. Under the RE head, the allocation had gone down drastically to `2 crore in and `5.6 crore in from 88 crore in There was a shocking difference between the budget estimate and the revised estimate. Looking at the Actual Expenditure in the Detailed Demands for Grants, we observed that World Bank Assisted ICDS Programme/World Bank ICDS IV Project and World Bank Assisted ICDS Programme Grant in Aid to State Government have 54 Appropriation Accounts of Ministry of Women and Child Development (accessed on ). 52

60 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to never observed any expenditure at all. This indicates that government had failed majorly in terms of utilisation of the resources fully. TABLE 3.7 EAC in Development (` Crore) Budget for the Young Child There are 164,478,150 children below the age of 6 years which is accounts to per cent of the total population in India. In 2013 Ministry of Women and Child Development had drafted a National a policy on Early Childhood Care Average and Education and it has been approved by Union Cabinet. The Policy would help children under 6 years of age who need holistic and integrated early childhood care. In particular it would enable preschool education inputs for their optimum development to realise their potential. The vision of the National ECCE Policy is to promote inclusive, equitable and contextualized opportunities for promoting optimal development and active learning capacity of all children below 6 years of age. The Policy focus is on early preschool learning for every child below 6 years. 55 Malnutrition in children remains as one of the greatest challenges in India. 56 Under nutrition jeopardizes children s survival, health, growth and development, and it slows national progress towards development goals and under nutrition is often an invisible problem. 57 As per NFHS III 48 per cent of children under age of 5 years are stunted (too short for their age) which indicates that, half of the country s children are chronically malnourished per cent of children under 5 years in the country are wasted which indicates that, one out of every five children in India is wasted. 43 per cent of children under age 5 years are underweight for their age. 58 Under nutrition is substantially higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Therefore the problem of under nutrition among children needs great attention and focused should be more in the rural areas. In our study we have found that schemes which are related to this specific issue are poorly resourced and also poor utilisation of the resources. A little over 1 per cent of the total Union Budget has been allocated to the young child (o-6 years) and this share is over one fourth of the total BfC Young Child Schemes Other than Young Child Schemes FIGURE 3.7 Share of Young Child Schemes (BE) in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) 55 (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 53

61 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights The private sector, both organised and unorganised, is perhaps the second largest service provider of ECCE although with varied quality. However, there is no estimate of the number of children it caters too and the financial resources spent by families Young Child Schemes Other than Young Child Schemes FIGURE 3.8 Share of Young Child Schemes (BE) within BfC ( to ) (Per Cent) FIGURE 3.9 BE,RE & AE for Young Child Programmes (` crore) BE RE AE Conclusion In Child Development India has not been able to achieve its targets which were set in the planned documents. Though the sector received a decent share of allocations within Union Budget, the implementation remains a big challenge. Few major schemes like Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme observed over spending throughout the study period but this scheme has also been marred by rampant corruption, which cannot be ignored. The flagship programme for adolescent girls, SABLA has been suffering from inaction resulting into heavy under spending similarly scheme like IGMSY has seen under spending in all the years of our study. Though introduction of schemes like SAKSHAM is a welcoming move, but implementation and expenditure trend from other schemes does not leave us with much hope. Even, the Externally Aided Projects suffer from absolute no expenditure, which is a bothersome trend. 54

62 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to ANNEXURE Child Development Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme (` thousands) NA NA NA Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Childrens Board (` thousands) NA NA NA Universal Children Day (` thousands) NA NA NA 55

63 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights NIPCCD (` thousands) NA NA NA NIPCCD (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (` thousands) NA NA NA Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Institution of National Awards to Individuals and Institutions (` thousands) NA NA NA 56

64 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to World Bank Assisted ICDS programme (` thousands) NA NA NA Contribution to UNICEF (` thousands) NA NA NA ICDS Training Programme (` thousands) NA NA NA Girl Child Specific District Plan of Action (` thousands) NA NA NA Girl Child Specific District Plan of Action (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA 57

65 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Scheme for Holistic Development of Adolescent Boys [SAKSHAM] (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme for Holistic Development of Adolescent Boys [SAKSHAM] (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Innovative Work on Women on Children (` thousands) NA NA NA Innovative Work on Women on Children (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Integrated Education in Nutrition (` thousands) NA NA NA 58

66 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Integrated Education in Nutrition (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme/IGMSY (` thousands) NA NA NA Conditional Maternity Benefit Scheme/IGMSY(NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (` thousands) NA NA NA National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development(NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA 59

67 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights National Nutritional Mission (` thousands) NA NA NA Integrated Child Development Scheme [ICDS] (` thousands) NA NA NA Integrated Child Development Scheme [ICDS] (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Nutritional Mission (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA 60

68 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to CHAPTER FOUR CHILD EDUCATION Every child has equal right to learning, knowledge and education. The State recognizes its responsibility to secure this right for every child, with due regard for special needs, through access, provision and promotion of required environment, information, infrastructure, services and supports, towards the development of the child s fullest potential. 59 This chapter will provide a cursory look on the overall government s allocations and expenditure in the Union Budget towards the Child Education Sector from the period to Few flagship schemes for Elementary and Secondary education also have been highlighted to see the commitments that our government has made so far. Status of Child Education in India In 2012, 96.5 per cent of all 6-14 year olds in rural India are enrolled in schools. 60 At the all India level, there has been a consistent rise in the proportion of schools complying with RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio, from 38.9 per cent in 2010 to 42.8 per cent in Nationally, the proportion of schools with no provision for drinking water remained almost the same at 17 per cent in 2010, 16.7 per cent in 2011 and 16.6 per cent in The proportion of schools with a useable drinking water facility has remained steady at about 73 per cent. 62 There has been a decline in the proportion of schools with at least one classroom per teacher, from 76.2 per cent in 2010 to 74.3 per cent in 2011 and further to 73.7 per cent in The proportion of girls in the age group years who were out of school has declined from 11.2 per cent in 2005 to 5.9 per cent in and yet the dropout rate among adolescent girls remain high at 63.5 per cent The National Policy for Children ( accessed on ) Main Findings of ASER 2012 (accessed on ) Main Findings of ASER 2012 (accessed on ) Main Findings of ASER 2012 (accessed on ). 63 Faster,Sustainable and more Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 12th Five Year Plan ; planrel/12appdrft/appraoch_12plan.pdf, accessed on Report of the Working Group on Child Rights for the 12th Five Year Plan; wrkgrp12/wcd/wgrep_child.pdf, accessed on

69 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Twelfth Five Year Plan Goals 1. Ensure universal access and, in keeping with letter and spirit of the RTE Act, provide good-quality free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years; 2. Improve attendance and reduce dropout rates at the elementary level to below 10 per cent and lower the of out of School Children at the elementary level to below 2 per cent for all socio-economic and minority groups and in all States; 3. Increase enrolments at higher levels of education and raise the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the secondary level to over 90 per cent, at the Senior Secondary level to over 65 per cent; 4. Raise the overall literacy rate to over 80 per cent and reduce the gender gap in literacy to less than 10 per cent; 5. Provide at least one year of well-supported/well-resourced pre-school education in primary schools to all children, particularly those in educationally backward blocks (EBBs); and 6. Improve learning outcomes that are measured, monitored and reported independently at all levels of school education with a special focus on ensuring that all children master basic reading and numeracy skills by class II and skills of critical thinking, expression and problem solving by class V. Share of Education Sector Out of all the other sectors, Child Education sector received the maximum share of allocation both in the Union Budget and within BfC from the period of to The budgetary allocation for education observed an average of 2.90 per cent in the Union Budget and per cent within BfC for the given period (Figure 4.1 & 4.2). Out of every 100 rupees in the Union Budget, only 2 rupees and 90 paise is allocated for the education sector and which is the highest of all sectors Child Education Other than Child Education Other than Child Education Child Education FIGURE 4.1 Average Share of Education BE in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE 4.2 Average Share of Education BE within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) 62

70 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Despite receiving the largest share of the budget among all sectors, and also an increase in budget allocations in actual terms, there has been a consistent decline in the share the education sector has gone down both in the Union Budget and within the share of BfC. Its share in the Union Budget has reduced from 3.91 per cent in to 2.72 per cent in Similarly within BfC also the percentage share of education has gone down from in to per cent in The lowest share of allocation was per cent in (Figure 4.3) Education BE in BfC Education BE in Union FIGURE 4.3 Share of Education BE in Union Budget and BfC ( to ) (Per cent) TABLE 4.1 Share of Education BE within Union Budget and BfC Year Education BE (` crore) Union Budget BE (` crore) BfC BE (` crore) Share of Education (BE) in Union Budget (Per cent) Share of Education BE within BfC (Per cent) Average

71 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Lack of school infrastructure makes a mockery of RTE Updated: April 5, :37 IST 1 in 10 schools lacks drinking water supply; 40 per cent are without functional common toilets. Two years after the ambitious Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 came into being, 95.2 per cent of schools are not yet compliant with the complete set of RTE infrastructure indicators, a civil society survey nationwide shows. And a shockingly high percentage, 93, of teacher candidates failed in the National Teacher Eligibility Test conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education in In , the failure was 91 per cent in the national examination, meant to test the candidates teaching aptitude and a prerequisite for appointment. Only 4.8 per cent of government schools have all nine facilities stipulated under the Act; eight of the nine facilities are present in per cent schools; approximately one-third of the schools have up to seven facilities and about 30 per cent schools do not have even five facilities. A Stocktaking of the First Year of the Implementation of the Right to Education Act, conducted by the civil society organisations under the banner of the RTE Forum, shows that one in 10 schools lacks drinking water facilities, 40 per cent schools lack a functional common toilet, and an equal number do not have separate toilets for girls. As high as 60 per cent of the schools are not electrified and 50 per cent lack even a ramp for differently-abled children. Only one in every five schools has a computer. Thirty-six per cent of all sanctioned teaching posts are vacant, while 6.7 lakh teachers are professionally unqualified and untrained. The report also cites DISE (District Information System for Education) data, which suggests that 21 per cent of teachers in schools were not professionally trained. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa have especially large pools of unqualified teachers, directly impacting the quality of education. This reflects the quality of instruction in teacher training institutes, said Ambarish Rai, national convener of the RTE Forum. Infrastructure remains an issue to be dealt with. The pace at which it is being added is slow, says the report. There is, consequently, a huge infrastructural backlog that requires to be cleared, which makes the slow pace doubly unfortunate. Around 4 per cent of habitations lack a primary school within walking distance. Still we have 16 million children out of school said Mr. Rai. The outcome is based on an analysis of figures provided by official documents and studies done by non-governmental groups. The report also suggests that almost per cent of the children reported one or more types of punishment. A study released by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights during 2012, based on evidence collected in , found that only nine out of 6,632 students in seven States who were surveyed denied that they received any kind of punishment in schools. As many as 81.2 per cent children were subject to outward rejection by being told that they were not capable of learning. Out of the total, 75 per cent reported that they had been hit with a cane and 69 per cent had been slapped in the cheek. Further, the report says, 40 per cent of primary schools have a classroom-student ratio higher than 1:30. The government failed to spend 30 per cent of the funds allocated for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)/RTE in compared to 78 per cent the earlier year. Source: 64

72 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Rate of Change under Child Education As the Table 4.2 suggest, at every year under BE, RE and AE head the rate of change is not consistent with each other and had remained very irregular for the period to Most inconsistent was at the RE stage with sharp increases and decreases. All the three stages show a completely different trend. It has been observed that child education BE from to the percentage difference was 1.48 per cent. Many schemes such as Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, National Bal Bhawan etc., has seen a increase in its budget allocation and also schemes like Rashtriya Madyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS), Scheme for Construction and Running of Girls Hostels, Scheme for providing quality education in Madrassas, Infrastructure development in Minority Institution and Scheme for setting up of 6000 model schools at block level etc., have seen a budgetary provision in , earlier in there were no allocation at all for all the above mention schemes. The year has shown further high rise in the allocation over the last year, the amount rose to per cent in Such high percentage in the allocation under BE head was due to high amount of budgetary provision in the schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Mid-day Meal Cost of Food Grains (MDM), Navodaya Vidyalayas, National Means cum Merit Scholarships etc. In the following year , the BE head observed a declined in the; it went down to 9.56 per cent due to low allocation in many of the above mentioned schemes. Again in the last two year of our study rate of change increased to per cent in and per cent Such rise and fall in the allocations for both elementary and secondary education raises concerns regarding child education sector and attainment of full literacy rate, enrollment. Without adequate resources it is impossible to meet our targets. RE stage has also seen a quite erratic trend. In the difference was per cent which went into negative growth to per cent in Following two financial years have observed a lesser difference in the mid year allocation, 1.25 per cent in and per cent in (See Table 4.2). If we look at the expenditure graph, at AE stage the of utilisation of funds went down every year, in the per cent of expenditure was over the last year which decline to 9.97 in and further in it decreased to 5.43 per cent. It clearly indicates that every year the actual expenditure is going down under education sector. It is sad to see that despite getting the highest share of allocation, our child education sector is seriously being neglected with inconsistent budget allocation and poor utilisation of the funds. 65

73 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights TABLE 4.2 Rate of Change in Union Budget, BfC and Child Education Budget (Per cent) Union BfC Child Education BE RE AE BE RE AE NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (BE) Allocation & Expenditure under Child Education The trend of allocation under education sector has been very uneven for the period to Figure 3.5 & Table 3.2 suggest that allocation under education has seen a rise but not much as per the requirement. Allocation at BE head noted a significant increase only in the last two year of our study. In , BE allocation was ` which went up to ` in But then again in the financial year the allocation decreased to ` The highest increase in the amount of allocation happened in the last two year of our study, which was ` in and ` in The mid-year allocations i.e. RE had remained lower than the BE all throughout the period of our study except The RE in was severely very high, at BE stage ` crore was allocated but the mid-year allocation rose upto ` crore. Such fluctuation shows that there was no planning at the time of estimating the budget FIGURE 4.4 BE,RE & AE in Child Education (` crore) BE RE AE Despite receiving the lion s share, actual expenditure has remained lower than what was allocated for the education sector. There has been an average of almost 10 per cent under spending going upto almost as high as 16 per cent in (out of crore, a total of crore was spent). 66

74 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to The least under-utilisation was seen in only 0.4 per cent (out of crore, the amount spent was crore). Such poor utilisation of funds indicates the failure of implementation of the RTE act. There is a huge demand of universalizing the primary education, therefore India needs to improve the enrolment rate and retain the dropouts from the school Expenditure AE FIGURE 4.5 Expenditure (AE) in Child Education ( to ) in per cent TABLE 4.3 Allocation and Expenditure in Education Sector (` crore) AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE (%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (till ) Table 4.4 shows the programmes and schemes where there was under-spending, which the appropriation accounts describe as saving. It must be of course pointed out that the saving of resources also means that this amount was not invested in the implementation of planned programmes and interventions, denying children the benefit from them. TABLE 4.4 Appropriation Account of Government of India ( to ) (` lakhs) Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess + Saving National Council of Educational Research and Training Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan - Establishment and Related Expenditure Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan General Component District Primary Education Programme (EAP) Information & Communication Technology in Schools- Grants to Voluntary Organisations National Programme of mid-day-meals in school - Cost of Food Grains

75 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess + Saving Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) Vocationalisation of Education Scheme for Construction and Running of Girls Hostels for Students of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-day Meals in Schools (National Component) National Council of Educational Research and Training Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) Scheme for Setting up of 6000 Model Schools at Block Level as Bench Mark of Excellence Information and Communication Technology in Schools Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) Vocationalisation of Education Information and Communication Technology in Schools Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-day Meals in Schools - Cost of Food Grains Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan General Component National Institute of Open Schooling Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) ICT in Schools - Grants to Voluntary Organisations National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) (SCSP) Scheme for Construction & Running of Girls Hostels for Students of Sec & Higher Secondary Schools Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Establishment and Related Expenditure National Programme of Mid-Day Meals in Schools (National Component) National Institute of Open Schooling Scheme for Setting up of 6000 Model Schools at Block Level as Bench Mark of Excellence ICT in Schools - Grants to Voluntary Organisations Vocationalisation of Education Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan

76 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to A Closer Look at the Schematic Allocations under the Child Education Sector Elementary and Secondary Education Within the overall child education sector major allocation is for elementary education. From to , the average share of elementary education has been per cent and secondary education per cent including welfare fund from different ministries as well Higher Education 0.7 Elementry Education Secondary Education Within elementary education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) are the most effectively designed schemes in order to strengthen the elementary education. Few schemes like District primary education Programme, Support to one pre-primary in Govt. local body school-gia, Integrated education for disabled children and Scheme for Universal Access & quality at secondary stage (success) ceased to have any allocation from the financial year onwards. Elementary Education Right to Education (RTE) Act and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) FIGURE 4.6 Average share of Elementary and Secondary Education within Child Education Budget ( to ) (Per cent) The Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has become operative with effect from 1st April The RTE Act provides that all children in the 6-14 age groups have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is the main vehicle for implementing the provision of the RTE Act. The SSA Framework of Implementation and Norms for Intervention have been revised to correspond to the provisions of the RTE Act, including norms for opening new schools as per the neighbourhood norms prescribed under the State RTE Rules, the prescribed pupil teacher ratio, and infrastructure norms. SSA covers all States and Union Territories and reaches out to an estimated 19.4 crore children in 12.3 lakh habitations in the country. 65 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India s flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the need OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI (accessed on ) 66 (accessed on ). 69

77 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Government has revised the Framework of Implementation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to correspond with the provisions of the RTE Act, as also the fund sharing pattern between the Central and State Governments to provide for a more favourable sharing ratio for the States. The cumulative achievements under SSA till September, 2012 include: Opening of 3,52,816 new primary and upper primary schools (upto Dec, 2012) Construction of 2,84,032 new school buildings Construction of 16,42,867 additional classrooms Provision of 2,17,820 drinking water facilities Construction of 6,18,089 toilets Appointment of lakh teachers In-service training imparted to lakh teachers Supply of free textbooks to 8.32 crore children Source: Outcome Budget (MHRD) Department of School Education and Literacy. SSA is supported by domestic resources and was supplemented partially by external funding from the World Bank s International Development Association (IDA), United Kingdom s Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union (EU); presently only with EU support. 67 Achievements of SSA The achievements of SSA till September, 2012 are opening of new primary and upper primary schools (up to December 2012), construction of school buildings, construction of 1,442,867 additional classrooms, provision of 217,820 drinking water facilities, construction of 618,089 toilets, supply of free textbooks to 8.32 crore children during first half of , appointment of lakh teachers lakh teachers received in-service training during first half of There has been a significant reduction in the number of out of school children on account of SSA interventions. The number of Out of School Children has come down from lakh in 2005 to 81.5 lakh in 2009 as per an independent study conducted by the Social Rural Research Institute-Indian Market Research Bureau. 68 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme has observed a significant increase in its allocations from to During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the Government s (GOI and states) budget for SSA increased nearly 3-fold from `21,360 crores in to `61,734 crores in The per-student allocation has more than tripled from an India average of `1,598 in to `4,746 in But expenditure has failed to keep pace and only 61 per cent of allocations were spent in Financial Allocation (FY) As per outcome budget , the approved outlay for SSA for the Eleventh Plan period was ` 71,000 crores. However, on account of the requirements arising out of implementation of the RTE Act, the Government approved an outlay of ` 2,31,233 crore for the combined RTE SSA 67 SSA- eighteenth Joint Review Mission (17th to 24th June 2013). 68 OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 70

78 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to programme for a five year period from to to be shared between the Central and the State Government in the 65:35 ratio (90:10 for NER). This outlay of ` 2, crore is supported by Grant-in-Aid of ` 24,068 crore awarded by the Thirteenth Finance Commission to the States during 5 year period to As per Joint Review Mission, Currently SSA has nearly 6800 Block Resource Centres across the country. In , more than 70,000 CRCs are functional, which is 98 per cent of sanctioned CRCs. National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools The Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers children of Classes I-VIII studying in Government, Local Body, Government aided and National Child Labour Project schools and the centres run under Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS)/Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centres including Madarsas/ Maktabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). It is the largest school feeding programme in the world, covering crore children in lakh elementary schools across the country. 71 According to scheme norms, GOI contributes 75 per cent to the total cost while states contribute 25 per cent. For North-Eastern states, the cost-sharing ratio is 90:10. TABLE 4.5 Year Wise Outlay under Mid-day Meal Scheme (` in crores) Year BE RE Releases (as on ) Source: (Union Budgetary Allocation) Stage Revised cooking cost per Centre -State- sharing child per day Non-NER States (75:25) NER states (90:10) Centre State Centre State Primary Upper primary Source: Mid-Day Meal has a significant impact on enrolment and attendance of children. Mid-Day Meal also acts as a regular source of supplementary nutrition for children, and facilitates their healthy growth. Mid-Day Meal can help to break the barriers of caste and class among children in school. The gender gap in school participation can also be narrowed, as the programme helps to erode 70 OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI (accessed on ). 71 Annual Report MHRD (accessed on ). 71

79 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights the barriers that prevent girls from going to school. 72 The Scheme also provides a useful source of employment for women. As per the MDM guidelines, one cook-cumhelper for schools up to 25 students, two cooks cum-helpers for schools with 26 to 100 students and one additional cook-cum-helper for every addition of up to 100 students for cooking and serving mid day meal in schools. The expenditure towards the honorarium of cook-cumhelper is to be shared between the Centre and the NER States on 90:10 basis and with other States/UTs on 75:25 basis. 73 During the current year crore children in lakh institutions are benefitting under the Mid-day Meal Scheme. A total of lakh cook-cum helpers are working in Mid-Day Meal Scheme and more than 80 per cent are women. Apart from the existing components, the Twelfth Plan allocation is also proposed to be provided for new components under MDMS and revision of norms of assistance such as Revision of honorarium of cook-cum-helpers from ` to ` during and and ` 2000 during and per cook-cum-helper per month Source: OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI According to Accountability initiative, allocations to Mid-Day Meals (MDM) have increased by 55 per cent in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, from `6,678 crores in financial year to `10,380 crores in financial year In total, `48,000 crores were allocated to MDM during the plan period. Allocations for financial year stand at `13,215 crores, accounting for 32 per cent of the total elementary education budget. Out of which 80 per cent (`38,400 crores) of the total allocations were spent during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. 74 On an average, primary schools utilised 85 per cent and upper primary schools utilised 88 per cent of their total allocation for cooking costs. There were state-wide variations, in , Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Haryana utilized over 90 per cent of their allocations. Bihar and Gujarat, on the other hand, used just over 60 per cent. Arunachal Pradesh was the worst performer utilising only 48 per cent of the total cooking cost allocations. 75 Though there has always been an increase in the budget allocation but expenditure under this midday meal scheme has seen under spending trend. As per Detailed Demand for Grants of Ministry of Human Resource Development, there has been no spending at all in the Northeastern Areas from the period to So there is also a problem of transfer of funds to the states and lack of monitoring at the point of implementation. Secondary Education Like elementary, secondary education equally holds a crucial place/ stage and it prepares the child for higher education and also in the world of work. Therefore the policy should be to make secondary education of good quality and should be made available, accessible and affordable. However as per our schematic allocation analysis secondary education receives a very minimum share as compared to elementary under the education sector. Most of the schemes are centrally sponsored 72 OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI (accessed on ). 73 OUTCOME BUDGET Department of School Education and Literacy (MHRD) GoI (accessed on ) 74 (accessed on ) (accessed on ). 72

80 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to schemes under secondary education. Secondary education has many more schemes as compared to elementary education though it gets lesser budget allocations as compared to elementary education. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) This scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75 per cent from per cent in at secondary stage within 5 years of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation. The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e., by the end of Twelfth Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by In the year , RMSA was allocated a total sum of ` crore, the allocations kept increasing till the financial year to ` crore then again in the following three financial years the amount kept fluctuating and in the allocation at BE stage was just ` crore. TABLE 4.6 Rastriya Madyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (` crore) NA NA NA In , four existing schemes were merged into RMSA, these are: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in school; Girls hostel; Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS); Vocational Education (VE). As per Accountability Initiative report, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) of students in secondary schools are low. As of September 2012, GER stood at 67 (at the all India level) and NER at As per appropriation account of the Union Government , this scheme has seen a saving ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) and this was due to late receipt of proposals from State Governments, scheme being newly launched. But in , RMSA observed an excess, of ` lakhs which means over spending of the allocated budget (accessed on ). 77 Accountability Initiative Budget Briefs, RMSA- GoI,

81 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) The Scheme of Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) was launched in replacing the earlier scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC). It provides assistance for the inclusive education of the disabled children in classes IX-XII. The aim of the Scheme is to enable all students with disabilities, after completing eight years of elementary schooling, to pursue further four years of secondary schooling (classes IX to XII) in an inclusive and enabling environment. Allocations made towards this scheme for the period to have seen a very uneven trend. Though towards the last year of our study the allocation dropped to crore from 70 crore ( ). Only in , this scheme has seen a little higher allocation which is 80 crore. TABLE 4.7 Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) NA NA NA As per appropriation account , IEDSS observed a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) due to non-receipt of viable proposals from the Union Territory Governments (without legislature). National Means cum Merit Scholarship This scheme was launched in 2008 under Ministry of Human Resource and Development. The objective of this scheme is to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to prevent them dropping out from school at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage. This is a centrally sponsored scheme and MHRD has made state-wise allocation on the basis of twothird weightage to enrolment of students in classes VII and VIII and one-third wightage would be given to population of children of age group for class VII and VIII. The scheme would provide reservation to different categories of students as per the State/UT norms; as different States/UTs have their own norms of reservation. However, the total number of scholarships to a particular State UT may be restricted to the allocation made by the Central Government. 78 A sum of ` 1 lakh scholarship is provided. Every year an amount of `6000 per annum (` 500 per month) will be provided to the selected candidates for study in classes IX-XII for four years (accessed on ). 74

82 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to From this scheme has seen a decline in its allocations from 90.5 crore in to `70 in In the first two years of our study this scheme has seen complete zero allocation but there is expenditure of `10.14 crore, this is now quite mysterious that without any allocations from where this spending happened? As per appropriation account , National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme has a saving of ` lakhs (against the sanctioned provision of ` lakhs) and this was due to receipt of less proposals from State Governments and Union Territories owing to non-fulfillment of certain eligibility criterion. TABLE 4.8 National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme NA NA NA Allocation made towards Schedule tribes Sub Plan and Special Component Plan for Scheduled caste. During our study we have noted that since every scheme has observed a separate allocation for the Schedule caste and Schedule tribe. Though the share of allocation increased for both the component in but still it is inadequate to meet the overall SC/ST population. There are many schemes for the welfare of the marginalized children and the backward class which are under the Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment. Most of these schemes are for pre/post matric Scholarships programmes and Hostel facilities to SC/ ST OBC boys and girls. Special Component Plan for Scheduled Caste NA NA NA 75

83 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Schedule Tribes Sub Plans NA NA NA Share of Externally Aided Component (EAC) Education sector is the most prioritized one out of all the other sector and receives the maximum share of allocations in the BfC but as per the share of EAC education sector receives only 2.60 per cent in the total education budget. From to , there has been a welcome fall in dependency on EAC with the share of EAC in the education sector declining EAC in Child Education Other than EAC in Child Education FIGURE 4.7 Average share of EAC in Education ( to ) (per cent) Over the years EAC has seen a declining trend of allocations, in , it received ` crore and in the allocation came down to `39.99 crore. Table 4.9 Schemes that observed EAC allocations were Sarva Shikha Abhiyan & Mahila Samakhya. TABLE 4.9 EAC in Education Sector (` Crore) NA NA NA Average

84 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Conclusion Although the education sector has received the maximum share of allocations both in the Union Budget and in the share of BfC, still these resources have not been adequate to meet the current requirement and attain the targeted goals. Moreover the poor utilisation of these resources has been another setback in achieving the given targets of Universalisation of Elementary education. As recommended by Joint Review Mission for SSA that MHRD develop a Quality Education Roadmap. It should include learning indicators, clarity on pedagogy and other inputs required, and a roadmap comprising a roll out towards attaining agreed upon indicators. This should be developed in consultation with the states. So such recommendation should be taken seriously and all the states should bring out its own achievement report and better monitoring and accountability. 77

85 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights ANNEXURE Child Education Mid-day Meal (` thousands) NA NA NA Mid-day Meal (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) (` thousands) NA NA NA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA 78

86 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Strengthening of Teachers Training Institutions (` thousands) NA NA NA Strengthening of Teachers Training Institutions (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Bal Bhawan (` thousands) NA NA NA National Bal Bhawan(NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Mahila Samakhya (` thousands) NA NA NA 79

87 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Mahila Samakhya(NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA Support to One Year Pre-Primary in Govt. Local Body Schools (` thousands) NA NA NA Support to One Year Pre-Primary in Govt. Local Body Schools (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA The Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (` thousands) NA NA NA 80

88 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to The Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA The Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (` thousands) NA NA NA The Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (NE Areas) (` thousands) NA NA NA District Primary Education Programme (` thousands) NA NA NA 81

89 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training) (` thousands) NA NA NA NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (` thousands) NA NA NA Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Educational facilities to Tibetian Refugee Children School (` thousands) NA NA NA 82

90 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to National Institute of Open Schooling (` thousands) NA NA NA Vocationalisation of Education (` thousands) NA NA NA Vocationalisation of Education (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Navodaya Vidyalayas (` thousands) NA NA NA Navodaya Vidyalayas (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 83

91 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights New Model Schools (` thousands) NA NA NA New Model Schools (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Upgrading 2000 KGBVs (` thousands) NA NA NA NA Upgrading 2000 KGBVs (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA NA Rastriya Madyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (` thousands) NA NA NA 84

92 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Rastriya Madyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme for Setting up of 6000 Model Schools at Block Level (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme for Setting up of 6000 Model Schools at Block Level (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) (` thousands) NA NA NA Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 85

93 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Scheme for Construction and Running of Girls Hostels (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme for Construction and Running of Girls Hostels (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Integrated Education for Disabled Children (` thousands) NA NA NA Integrated Education for Disabled Children (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA I&CT in Schools (` thousands) NA NA NA 86

94 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to I&CT in Schools (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Access with Equity Grants to Vol Org (` thousands) NA NA NA Access with Equity Grants to Vol Org (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Appointment of Language Teachers (` thousands) NA NA NA Appointment of Language Teachers (NE Area) (`thousands) NA NA NA 87

95 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Scheme For Univ. Access & Quality at Sec. Stage (SUCCESS) (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme For Univ. Access & Quality at Sec. Stage (SUCCESS) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Sec. Education (SUCCESS) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Sec. Education (SUCCESS) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (` thousands) NA NA NA 88

96 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Merit Scholarship Scheme (OSC) (` thousands) NA NA NA National Merit Scholarship Scheme (OSC) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Assistance to Agencies for Education in Human Values (Assistance to Non-Govt) (` thousands) NA NA NA Assistance to Agencies for Education in Human Values (Assistance to Non-Govt) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 89

97 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Assistance to Agencies for Education in Human Values (` thousands) NA NA NA Scholarships to Students from Non-Hindi Speaking UTs for Post Matrics Studies in Hindi (` thousands) NA NA NA Appointment of Language Teachers (Promotion of Indian lang. & lit.) (` thousands) NA NA NA Appointment of Language Teachers (Promotion of Indian lang. & lit.) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 90 Area Intensive & Madarsa Modernisation Prog. (` thousands) NA NA NA

98 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Area Intensive & Madarsa Modernisation Prog. (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Contribution to UNESCO - INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme of PMS Book Bank and Upgradation of Merit of ST Students (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme of PMS Book Bank and Upgradation of Merit of ST Students (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Scheme of Hostels for ST Boys & Girls (` thousands) NA NA NA 91

99 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Scheme of Hostels for ST Boys & Girls (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Establishment of Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plan Areas (` thousands) NA NA NA Establishment of Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plan Areas (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Strengthening of Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts (` thousands) NA NA NA Strengthening of Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 92

100 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students (` thousands) NA NA NA Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST Students (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities (` thousands) NA NA NA Pre-Matric Scholarship for Minorities (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities (` thousands) NA NA NA 93

101 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Free Cycles for Girl Students of Class IX (` thousands) NA NA NA Free Cycles for Girl Students of Class IX (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Hostel to Schedule Caste Boys (` thousands) NA NA NA Hostel to Schedule Caste Boys (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 94

102 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Hostel to Schedule Caste Girls (` thousands) NA NA NA Hostel to Schedule Caste Girls (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post Matric Scholarships (SC) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post Matric Scholarships (SC) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Pre-Matric Scholarships (SC) (` thousands) NA NA NA 95

103 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Pre-Matric Scholarships (SC) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Hostel for OBC Boys & Girls (` thousands) NA NA NA Hostel for OBC Boys & Girls (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post Matric Scholarships (OBC) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post Matric Scholarships (OBC) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 96

104 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Pre-Matric Scholarships (OBC) (` thousands) NA NA NA Pre-Matric Scholarships (OBC) (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Post matric Scholarship for Economically Backward Class (` thousands) NA NA NA Post-Matric Scholarship for Economically Backward Class (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA Grant for Creation of Sports Infrastructure Facilities in Schools (` thousands) NA NA NA 97

105 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities (` thousands) NA NA NA Grants to Institution for Post Matric Scholarship (` thousands) NA NA NA Promotion of Sports & Games in School (` thousands) NA NA NA Education Complex in Low Literacy Pockets for Development of Women Literacy in Tribal Areas (` thousands) NA NA NA Education Complex in Low Literacy Pockets for Development of Women Literacy in Tribal Areas (NE Area) (` thousands) NA NA NA 98

106 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to CHAPTER FIVE CHILD PROTECTION Child protection implies protecting every right of every child. It refers to protecting children against social, psychological and emotional insecurity by preventing all forms of violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse against children including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful home-based violence arising from superstitions, such as, child sacrifices, or child marriages. Violating children s rights to be protected contributes to poor mental, physical, emotional and social development of children, and adversly affects children s capacity for self-reliance and their roles and responsibilities as adults. Providing successful protection measures, the prime responsibility of the government, facilitates healthy physical and emotional growth of children. This sector contains programmes and schemes aimed at specially disadvantaged groups of children, including child labour, adoption, trafficked children, children who are physically or mentally challenged, street children, and children in conflict with law. While protection is a right of every child, some children are more marginalised than others due to their circumstances. Immediate causes such as abandonment, breakdown of the family, conflict or disaster, abuse and exploitation impact some children significantly. Crimes against children in India have been on the rise. It is estimated that around 39 per cent of India s children are vulnerable or experiencing difficult circumstances characterized by their specific social, economic and geo-political situations. 79 All these children in that vulnerable position need special attention than others due to their circumstances causing abandonment, abuse and exploitation. It is very tragic that our nation fails to secure the basic rights of our children. And yet, of all the four sectors within BfC, child protection sector is undoubtedly the most neglected one in terms of financial allocation. Of all the four sectors within BfC, child protection sector remains undoubtedly the most neglected one in terms of financial allocation. 79 Annual Report Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI (accessed on ). 99

107 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights As per the rules and laws of the government, every state should have enough child protection mechanisms such as shelter homes for the homeless children, proper care to the children belonging to the marginalized section, creating a protective net for children through the setting up of child protection committees etc. However, inadequate resources, poor infrastructure and lack of human resources. Children in India Remain Unprotected There has been a 15 per cent increase in crimes against children. A total of 38,172 crimes against children were reported in the country during 2012 as compared to 33,098 cases during 2011, suggesting an increase of 15.3 per cent. 80 The overall of child brides in India is 42.9 per cent. 81 Around 13 per cent of married women aged years had experienced sexual violence in comparison to 8 per cent in the year age group. 82 According to NSSO (66th round of Survey), there are 49,83,871 child labourers (Age group 5-14) across the country. 83 TABLE 5.1 Crime against Children in 2012 (Per centage variation) Sr. No. Crime Head % Variation in 2011 over 2010 % Variation in 2012 over Murder Infanticide Rape , Kidnapping & abduction Foeticide Abetment of suicide Exposure & abandonment Procuration of minor girls Buying of girls for prostitution Selling of girls for prostitution Other crimes (including Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006) Total Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Crimes against children, The above table reflects the increasing number of cases registered under the crime heads as per the NCRB statistics. Crimes like Rape, Kidnapping &Abduction, Infanticide and Foeticides have seen a sharp increase over the past two years. 80 National Crime Records Bureau, Crimes against children 2012 (accessed on ). 81 UNICEF: Child Marriage in India (An analysis of Available Data 2012) (accessed on November 6, 2012). Available at documents/childmarriage.pdf. 82 UNICEF: Child Marriage in India (An analysis of Available Data 2012) (accessed on November 6, 2012). Available at documents/childmarriage.pdf (accessed on ). 100

108 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Share of Child Protection Sector in the Union Budget The Child Protection sector within the Union Budget for children includes programme and schemes related to all children who are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation such as the children on the street, child labour, children in need of care and protection, adoption, child marriage, children in prostitution, children who are abused sexually, It also includes schemes that address children in conflict with law Child Protection 1 Child Protection Other than Child Protection 99 Other than Child Protection FIGURE 5.1 Average Share of Protection BE in Union Budget ( to ) (Per cent) FIGURE 5.2 Average Share of Protection BE within BfC ( to ) (Per cent) On an average, only 5 paise out of every rupee in the Union Budget was allotted to child protection during the six years of study period (Figure 5.1 & 5.2). Only 5 paise out of every rupee in the Union Budget was allotted to child protection during the six years of study period Within BfC protection sector received only 1 per cent. This is the lowest share amongst all the four sectors. What is more, the share of child protection sector both within the Union Budget as well as within BfC has been fluctuating (Table 5.2 and Figure 5.3). The percentage share of child protection BE within the Union Budget had gone down from 0.07 per cent in to 0.04 per cent in Despite the introduction of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in Child protection concerns have been growing over the years but such fluctuations and significant dip at BE stage raise serious questions as how the GoI will address the increasing needs of our children in distress? 101

109 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights TABLE 5.2 Share of Protection BE within Union Budget and BfC Year Protection BE (`crore) Union Budget BE (`crore) BfC BE (`crore) Share of Protection (BE) in Union Budget (Per cent) Share of Protection (BE) within BfC (Per cent) Average Protection BE in BfC Protection BE in Union FIGURE 5. 3 Share of Protection BE in Union Budget and BfC ( to ) (Per cent) Rate of Change under Child Protection The analysis of the annual rate of change of the child protection sector indicates a very inconsistent and uneven rate of change. The annual rate of change at the BE stage showed a negative growth in due to major decline in allocation for ICPS by 76 per cent from ` 50 crore in to ` 12 crore in But from showed a positive growth in the budget allocation at BE stage (Table 5.3). TABLE 5.3 Rate of Change in Union Budget, BfC and Child Protection Budget (Per cent) Union BfC Child Protection BE RE AE BE RE AE NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 4.32 NA NA Average (BE)

110 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to The sudden spikes in the rate of change are because of the launch of new schemes and also higher allocations in the BE for schemes such as Scheme for the welfare of working children in need and care of protection, Integrated Child Protection Scheme etc. However, what is interesting that the rate of change in all three stages, BE, RE and AE do not follow the same pattern, with the rate of change in spending. Allocation (BE, RE) & Expenditure (AE) on Child Protection The allocations (BE) on child protection dropped by per cent (from ` crore in to ` crore in ). However, the following year, it increased by 86 per cent (Table 5.4). TABLE 5.4 Allocation and Expenditure in Protection Sector ( ` crore) AE-BE AE-BE (%) RE-BE RE-BE (%) AE-RE AE-RE(%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Average (till )* *The Average has been calculated only till as the expenditure data after is not available. Both the Revised Estimate (RE) and the Actual Expenditure (AE) were much less than Budget Estimate (BE) in all the six years. On an average (till ), BE is per cent more than the Revised Estimate (RE). There has been an average of per cent under spending in Protection sector (Figure 5.4). There has seen consistent under spending in the child protection sector resulting into poor implementation of laws and policies. However, the RE and the AE do not follow the same pattern, with AE being higher than RE and in BE RE AE FIGURE 5.4 BE, RE, & AE in Child Protection ( ` crore)

111 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights FIGURE 5.5 Expenditure (AE) in Protection Sector ( to ) (Per cent) Such trend of the reduced RE every year indicates gaps in planning and implementation of schemes in child protection sector. As can be seen from Table 5.4 which lists out schemes in which there has been under spending in important schemes like CARA, SWADHAR. Even in NCPCR, the most important institution for monitoring and protecting child rights, the allocations could not be utilised. The reasons for under spending non-receipt of viable proposal from the organisation, non completion of the revision of the scheme, non-availability of full strength. 84 Some of these have been examined in some detail in the next section. Such under spending as mentioned in the appropriation account of India clearly shows a negative attitude towards the child protection sector and there are huge gaps in planning, coordination and implementation of the schemes. Is this how our government will address the issues of our child protection? 84 Appropriation Accounts of India ( and ), GRANT No. 104 Ministry Of Women And Child Development (accessed on ). 104

112 BUDGET FOR CHILDREN IN INDIA to Table 5.4 Appropriation Account of Government of India ( to ) (`lakhs) Year Scheme Total Grant Actual Expenditure Excess + Saving Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) ICPS National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover Swadhar Comprehensive Scheme for Combating Trafficking of Women and Children Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) ICPS Scheme for Street Children Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Swadhar ICPS Scheme for Welfare of Working Children in need of Care & Protection National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover Swadhar Conditioned Cash Transfer Scheme for Girl Child with insurance cover ICPS Swadhar

113 HAQ: Centre for Child Rights The Times of India, New Delhi, Friday, October 28, 2011 A Closer Look at the Schematic Allocations under the Child Protection Sector Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing this centrally Sponsored Scheme with a view to create a safe and secure environment for those children who are in need of care and protection, children in conflict with the law and other vulnerable children. The scheme is being implemented from the financial year mainly through the State Governments/Union Territory administrations and the fund sharing pattern between the Centre and the States/NGOs have been prescribed as: a) 90:10 for all the scheme components for the States of the North East and Jammu &Kashmir, b) 90:10 for all the scheme components with NGO participation, c) 100 per cent funding by the Centre to the Childline services, NIPCCD, CARA, CPSU and SPSU; d) 35:65 for the States other than the North East and Jammu & Kashmir, for the statutory bodies provided under the Juvenile Justice Act, i.e., Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees; 106