Mumbai, Mar 26 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said the state government allocated Rs 64,008 crore for gender-specific initiatives in the 2025-26 budget, seeking to allay concerns over the reduced allocation for the Ladki Bahin Yojana in the annual financial plan.

Tabling the gender budget in the assembly, Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, said the gender budget allocation constitutes 8.45 per cent of the total budget expenditure.

This allocation is part of the main Budget presented on March 10 and it doesn't mean a separate budget for women.

The Mahayuti government had drawn flak from the Opposition for slashing the allocation for the flagship Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme for women from Rs 46,000 crore in the July 2024 budget to Rs 36,000 crore in the latest Budget.

Pawar also said an allocation of Rs 1,00,605 crore has been made for the child budget, accounting for 13.28 per cent of the total outlay. The overall budget expenditure stands at Rs 7,57,576 crore.

Pawar said that Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) serves as a tool to bridge gender disparities in public finance assuming that these economic policies affect women, men and others alike.

"This innovation in public finance helps to mainstream and prioritise gender equality and related issues," he added.

Pawar stressed that the GRB is not about a separate budget for women but integrating gender sensitivity, awareness, and gender equality into the overall budgeting process.

He said this initiative aims to strengthen administrative processes, set targets for women's empowerment, and assess the impact of financial provisions.

Earlier, on March 10, Pawar presented the state's annual budget for 2025-26, projecting a revenue deficit of Rs 45,891 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 1,36,000 crore. The budget estimates revenue receipts of Rs 5,60,963 crore against revenue expenditure of Rs 6,06,855 crore.

Pawar assured that the government has successfully maintained the fiscal deficit below 3% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act. PTI MR NSK

Gender Responsive Budgeting integrated into state budget to mainstream gender equality and prioritise women's empowerment measures. The state Budget integrates a gender budget within the main Budget for 2025-26, presenting Gender Responsive Budgeting as an approach to integrate gender sensitivity, set administrative targets for women's empowerment, assess impacts of financial provisions, and situate revisions to the Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme within the overall gender-specific allocation.