New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated Rs 1,16,132.5 crore for children, marking a 5.65 per cent increase from the previous year's Rs 1,09,920.95 crore, but child rights bodies have expressed concerns over "declining budget share, reduced allocations for crucial programmes, and underutilisation of funds in key sectors like education, health and child protection".

The share for children in the overall Union Budget remains at 2.29 per cent, continuing a downward trend from 4.76 per cent in 2012-13, they said.

The budget for children as a percentage of GDP has also declined from 0.34 per cent in 2024-25 to 0.33 per cent this year, according to analyses by two separate child rights bodies -- Child Rights and You (CRY), and HAQ Centre for Child Rights.

The education sector remains the highest priority with an allocation of Rs 89,420.84 crore, marking an increase of 5.16 per cent.

The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan received a 10 per cent boost to Rs 41,250 crore, while PM SHRI Schools saw a 23.97 per cent jump to Rs 7,500 crore.

However, the HAQ report noted that fund utilisation has been uneven, with Rs 15,843 crore of allocated funds remaining unspent in 2023-24.

The Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), aimed at tribal students, received a minor 3.31 per cent increase to Rs 5,986.44 crore.

Meanwhile, the budget for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti was slashed by 8.53 per cent to Rs 5,305.23 crore, while the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme saw a marginal 0.8 per cent reduction, the HAQ report said.

Scholarships for marginalised groups saw mixed trends. The pre-matric scholarship for Scheduled Tribes (STs) was cut by 28.74 per cent, while the post-matric scholarship for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), and Denotified Tribes (DNTs) saw a 35.72 per cent increase, the CRY report said.

The budget for child health increased by 3.82 per cent to Rs 4,676.90 crore. The flexible pool for Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) and Health System Strengthening saw a 4.26 per cent rise, but funding for BCG and Sera vaccine production declined by 3.6 per cent, the HAQ report said.

Nutrition programmes received minor increases. While the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 saw a 3.58 per cent rise, budget for the PM POSHAN (formerly mid-day meal scheme) rose by only 0.26 per cent to Rs 12,500 crore.

Experts in the HAQ report claimed the slow budget growth contradicted the government's goal of improving child nutrition, especially given the rising malnutrition rates.

India ranked 105th out of 127 countries in the 2024 Global Hunger Index, and 38 per cent of children measured on the Poshan Tracker were found to be stunted.

Child protection continues to receive the lowest priority with an allocation of only Rs 1,822.45 crore, a mere 1.3 per cent increase from last year, experts said.

The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) was discontinued, raising concerns over the government's commitment to eradicating child labour, the HAQ report said.

Mission Vatsalya, aimed at protecting vulnerable children, saw a marginal 1.89 per cent increase to Rs 1,500 crore, despite rising cases of child exploitation and abuse, experts said.

They argued that these funds remain inadequate given inflation and increasing child protection challenges, as per the CRY report.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs saw a drastic 72 per cent cut in allocations, with major reductions in the post-matric scholarship for minorities (down 63.86 per cent) and the education scheme for madrasas (down 99.5 per cent), the experts said.

The Top-Class Schools scheme under PM YASASVI also saw a 33.33 per cent cut, the HAQ report said.

Experts in the HAQ report highlighted a pattern of reduced allocations in the Revised Estimate (RE) stage, raising concerns about inefficient planning.

In 2023-24, the child budget was cut by 8.62 per cent in the RE stage, and 85.74 per cent of the allocated funds were utilised. PTI UZM ARI