For the first time, the State government presented a ‘Child Budget’ on Thursday.
Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said this budget, as a special feature, consolidates all the policies and programmes for the development of children aged below 18. It has 279 programmes with an allocation of ₹36,340 crore, which constitutes 15.28% of the total volume of the State Budget. Mr. Yediyurappa presented the first gender budget in the State in 2007–08.
The Child Budget lists a range of issues — survival, protection, and development — from different departments. The maximum funds in this Budget are from the Department of Primary and Secondary Education and the Department of Women and Child Development.
Vasudev Sharma, executive director of non-governmental organisation Child Rights Trust, said it was a long-standing demand. “This will now at least help in monitoring and also demanding for services as per the State Budget and expenditure on child-centric issues. We now know how much money is allocated to the sectors listed,” he said.
Among the interesting announcements is that youngsters who are discharged from Bala Mandiras after 21 years will be given a financial assistance of ₹5,000 a month for a maximum of three years under the ‘Upakara’ scheme. Skill Development Training will also be provided to these young men and women.
The Chief Minister also announced modernising Mahila Supplementary Nutrition Production and Training Centres, aimed at better nutrition at anganwadi centres. “To enhance the production capacity by modernising these centres, it is proposed to provide interest-free loan from ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh under the Marginal Loan Scheme of the Karnataka State Women Development Corporation,” he said.
