2.27 billion rupees have been allocated to the Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security, of which 1.20 trillion rupees have been allocated to social security.
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The government has allocated a budget of Rs 2.27 billion for the Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security for the coming fiscal year.
Last year, the ministry's budget was Rs 2.08 billion. The government has doubled the child nutrition allowance provided to Dalit children under the age of 5. Now they will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000. Rs 3 billion has been allocated for this.
According to Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, the allowance has been doubled under the nutrition allowance program being operated in 25 districts of Madhesh, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, which are lagging behind in terms of high poverty and human development index. The allowance sent by the government through the local level is given to two children from a Dalit family. There is a provision for the nutrition allowance to reach the parents through the bank.
Although doubling the child nutrition allowance is positive, public health expert Aruna Upreti said that the homework should be seen. She analyzed that the programs introduced by the current government have not been successful. ‘The child allowance program in Karnali has not been successful, and the ‘Educate Daughters’ campaign in Madhesh does not seem to have been successful either. We need to see how it is used,’ she said.
Upreti also said that the allowance given to children is being used properly. ‘Parents take money through banks, but the parents themselves have misused the money.’ The local level has not even taken care of this, she said. ‘Even the kind of food children eat is not being adequately informed.’
The old age allowance provided by the government under social security will remain the same. Although there was talk of increasing the age for receiving old age allowance and allowance, the government has not made any announcement. The ‘Good Governance Roadmap Committee’ formed by the government earlier had recommended raising the minimum age for receiving old age allowance to 75 years.
Currently, single women and senior citizens of the Karnali region are being given a monthly old-age allowance of Rs 4,000 after reaching the age of 65 and others after reaching the age of 70. The government has started the ‘Old Age Allowance for Senior Citizens’ program through the budget of the fiscal year 2052/53. At that time, it was announced that senior citizens would be provided with an allowance of Rs 100 per month.
The market price will increase after the government increases the salaries of employees and the purchasing power of old-age allowance will decrease, said Krishna Murari Gautam, the founding president of Aging Nepal and human rights activist. ‘This decrease in purchasing power is not good for us,’ he said.
Similarly, an integrated bill will be formulated on the prevention of gender-based violence and a family reunification and social rehabilitation program for street children and senior citizens will be launched in collaboration with the provincial and local levels. Finance Minister Wagle has announced that the ministry will increase Dalit-focused investment by operating programs for the preservation of traditional skills of the Dalit community, income generation and technology upgrading in an integrated manner. He said that a national campaign will be launched against untouchability and discrimination and a social transformation campaign will be launched through all three levels of government to end social evils such as child labor, gender violence, sexual abuse, chhaupadi, menstrual discrimination and child marriage.
The government has announced to make government offices, digital technology, websites and software accessible to people with disabilities. Disability rehabilitation centers will be established in all provinces and residential model schools with infrastructure will be operated for children with autism.
Similarly, the government plans to bring 'gig workers' (independent professionals) into the formal labor and social security system. 120 billion rupees has been allocated for social security to protect against risks at various stages of the life cycle. The government has also set a goal of declaring Nepal a country free of street children. 310 million rupees has been allocated for the infrastructure and management of child reform homes. Budget has also been allocated for air rescue of pregnant women, newborns and newborns in remote areas who are at risk of death.
Campaigner Chesang Ghising said that even though the government has established a ministry in the name of gender and sexual minorities for the first time, the community has been neglected in the budget. She also said that government agencies have been saying that they cannot allocate sufficient budget due to the low population of the community. She said, “No matter how many times we go, they say there is no budget because the population is low. The census is limited to the ‘other’ gender category, and most queer and transgender people are being left out of the gender and sexual minority population.” She said that the problems seen in budget distribution will continue until an inclusive and realistic census is carried out.
