Centring Care in India’s Economic Policy

Context

• The Union Budget 2025 has marked a significant milestone in gender-responsive fiscal policies by allocating a record ₹4,49,028.68 crore to the Gender Budget (GB), reflecting a 37.3% increase from the previous year.
• This allocation represents 8.86% of the total Budget, indicating a growing recognition of gender-related economic issues.
• However, a closer analysis reveals that this increase is primarily attributed to the inclusion of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which alone accounts for 24% of the GB.
• Crucially, this rise does not stem from substantial investments in care infrastructure or new gender-responsive programs, highlighting persistent gaps in addressing unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW) in India’s economic planning.

The Care Work Crisis: An Overlooked Economic Reality

• The Issue of Unpaid Labour
  • Globally, women disproportionately shoulder the burden of unpaid care work, spending an average of 17.8% of their time on such activities.
  • This imbalance is even more severe in the Global South, where women in countries like India face an exacerbated care burden.
  • Indian women, in particular, spend 40% more time on unpaid care and domestic work compared to their counterparts in South Africa and China.
  • The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that 53% of Indian women remain outside the formal labour force due to caregiving responsibilities, compared to a mere 1.1% of men.
  • This striking disparity underscores the deeply entrenched gender norms that confine women to unpaid labour, limiting their economic participation and reinforcing systemic inequalities.
• The Heavy Burden on Marginalised Women
  • For marginalised women in low-income households, the situation is even more dire.
  • Many juggle 17–19 hours of daily labour, balancing paid employment with domestic responsibilities.
  • This results in ‘time poverty,’ where women lack the time to invest in personal development, economic opportunities, or leisure, leading to significant health and well-being challenges.
  • Feminist economists from the Global South emphasise that unpaid work in these regions extends beyond household duties to include family farm work, water and fuel collection, and sanitation-related tasks.
  • Limited access to essential infrastructure forces women to spend up to 73% of their time on unpaid care activities, a reality exacerbated by climate change.
  • For instance, water-related unpaid labour in India is projected to cost $1.4 billion by 2050 under high-emission scenarios, a direct consequence of inadequate public investment in care infrastructure.

Missed Opportunities in Budget 2025

• Despite its record allocation, the Gender Budget for 2025 fails to make transformative investments in care infrastructure that could alleviate the burden on women.
• The Economic Surveys of 2023-24 and 2024-25 recognise care infrastructure as a cornerstone of women’s empowerment, yet the Budget does not translate this understanding into concrete fiscal measures.
• India’s continued oversight of the care economy reflects a broader global pattern where unpaid labour remains largely invisible in mainstream economic planning.
• A key recommendation from the Economic Survey 2023-24 is that a direct public investment of 2% of GDP in care infrastructure could generate 11 million jobs while reducing the care burden.
• However, the Budget does not take concrete steps toward this goal.

Policy Recommendations: The Three R Framework

• Recognizing Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
  • Recognition is the first step toward addressing unpaid labour. India’s 2019 Time Use Survey marked a milestone in quantifying the time women spend on UCDW, revealing an average of seven hours per day.
  • However, conducting such surveys regularly is expensive.
  • A cost-effective solution would be integrating time-use modules into existing household surveys to systematically track unpaid work and inform policy decisions.
• Reducing the Burden Through Infrastructure Investments
  • Reducing women’s care burden requires significant investments in time-saving technologies and affordable care services.
  • The government’s decision to extend the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) until 2028 is a positive step toward addressing gaps in water access, a major contributor to unpaid labour.
  • However, funding delays and underutilisation continue to hinder its implementation.
  • While the scheme’s budget saw a 195% increase over Revised Estimates (RE), it declined by 4.51% from last year’s Budget Estimates (BE), highlighting allocation-spending mismatches.
  • Stronger implementation measures and sustainability initiatives are necessary to ensure that women benefit from improved water access.
• Redistributing Care Work Beyond Households
  • Redistributing care responsibilities, from households to the State and society—is essential for achieving gender equality.
  • The newly announced ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund, with ₹10,000 crore allocated for FY 2025-26, presents an opportunity to finance urban redevelopment projects, including water and sanitation improvements.
  • If leveraged effectively, this fund could help establish care infrastructure in urban centres, taking inspiration from Bogotá’s Care Blocks, which consolidate caregiving services to reduce women’s unpaid work.
  • Similar models could be integrated into India’s Smart Cities Mission to create gender-responsive urban spaces.

The Way Forward: The Need for Women’s Representation in Policy-Making

• Ensuring women’s representation in decision-making processes is critical to designing policies that reflect their lived experiences.
• Excluding women from policy formulation results in economic strategies that fail to address gender-specific challenges.
• Studies suggest that policies designed with women’s participation are six to seven times more effective in achieving gender-equitable outcomes.
• By encouragement of greater female leadership in governance, India can enhance the responsiveness and effectiveness of its gender policies.

Conclusion

• With its emphasis on Nari Shakti as a driver of economic growth, India has the potential to emerge as a global leader in gender-responsive economic planning.
• However, the 2025 Budget falls short of making care infrastructure a central pillar of its strategy.
• Recognising unpaid care work, investing in time-saving infrastructure, and redistributing caregiving responsibilities are critical steps in creating an inclusive economy.

Q1. What percentage of the total Union Budget for 2025 is allocated to the Gender Budget?
Ans. 8.86% of the total Union Budget for 2025 is allocated to the Gender Budget, amounting to ₹4,49,028.68 crore.

Q2, What major factor contributed to the increase in the Gender Budget for 2025?
Ans. The inclusion of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which accounts for 24% of the Gender Budget, contributed significantly to the increase.

Q3. What is the key issue regarding women’s unpaid care work in India?
Ans. Women in India bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, spending significantly more time on domestic and caregiving tasks than men, limiting their economic participation.

Q4. What is the proposed solution to reduce the care burden on women in India?
Ans. Investing in time-saving technologies, expanding affordable care infrastructure, and implementing public childcare and eldercare centers are key solutions to reduce women’s care burden.

Q5. Why is women’s representation in policy-making important?
Ans. Women’s representation in decision-making processes is crucial for creating effective gender-transformative policies that address the lived realities of women, improving their effectiveness significantly. 

Source:The Hindu