Budget 2026: Beyond SHE Marts, What's In It For Women And Children?

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has soared to a total outlay of Rs 28,183.06 crore in the Union Budget 2026–27. The Ministry has been allocated Rs 28,177.42 crore under revenue expenditure, with Rs 5.64 crore under capital expenditure.

In the previous years, the Ministry’s gross allocation stood at Rs 25,029.49 crore in 2024–25, rose to Rs 27,389.69 crore in the following financial year, was revised down to Rs 24,651.91 crore in 2025–26.

Revenue expenditure refers to spending on the day-to-day functioning of the government, including salaries, subsidies, pensions, interest payments, and the running of welfare schemes and services. Capital expenditure includes building infrastructure, purchasing equipment, investing in institutions, or providing loans that generate future returns.

The allocation for Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 has been raised to Rs 23,100 crore in the Union Budget 2026–27. It stood at Rs 21,014.02 crore in 2024–25, increased to Rs 21,960 crore in 2025–26, was subsequently decreased to Rs 20,949.47 crore in next financial year, and entirely under revenue expenditure.

In this year’s budget, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been allocated Rs 28.44 crore, compared with Rs 26.80 crore in the 2025–26 Revised Estimates, and Rs 28.15 crore in 2024–25. The NCPCR was set up under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, to ensure better protection of the rights of the child through the monitoring of constitutional and legal rights of children and monitoring programmes relating to the survival, welfare and development of children. 

For the National Commission for Women, the allocation in 2026–27 stands at Rs 36 crore, following Rs 38.41 crore in the 2025–26 Revised Estimates, Rs 28 crore in the 2025–26 Budget Estimates, and Rs 29.77 crore in 2024–25 (Actual), all under revenue expenditure. National Commission for Women is a statutory body constituted under National Commission for Women Act 1990. It has the mandate to investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other laws.

Women contribute only around 18 per cent to India’s GDP, not due to lower levels of work, but because a significant share of their labour remains unpaid and unaccounted for in national income. Although about 40 per cent of Indian women participate in the labour force—largely in unpaid agricultural work—nearly 60 per cent of those outside it cite domestic and care responsibilities as the primary reason, according to Periodic Labour Force Survey data.

In the Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to help women take the next step from credit-led livelihoods to being owners of enterprises by building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi Programme. “Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments.”

A Lakhpati Didi is a woman member of a self-help group (SHG) whose annual household income is at least ₹1 lakh. The Rural Development Ministry said that more than two crore women have achieved Lakhpati Didi status so far. The government has also stated that it will be building one girls’ hostel in every district.