After Kerala & Assam, Bihar to start special ‘child budget’

With 16 state government departments, in place of the previous eight, making allocation for children, there would be devoted schemes, once the guidelines are implemented, for children facing difficult circumstances such as child labour, disabilities, those affected by calamities and conflict, children of sex workers, street children, child trafficking, and child delinquents.

The child budgeting, being prepared since 2013-14, has guidelines ready for 2020-21 Budget, with 16 departments now making allocation for schemes for children. The Budget will be made for child survival, their health and nutrition, education and development, protection, and child participation.

Under child protection, there would be schemes for children facing “difficult circumstances such as child labour, children with disabilities, children affected by calamities and conflict, child prostitutes, children of prostitutes, street children, child trafficking and child delinquents”, according to the document on SOP for child budgeting.

Under the head “child participation” there will be schemes at elementary and secondary school levels on sports, debates and seminars and other extracurricular activities.

Child budgeting would include state schemes, Centrally sponsored schemes, Central sector schemes and established and committed expenditure. Earlier, eight departments — Art, Culture and Youth, Backward Classes and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare, Education, Social Welfare, Labour Resources, Health, SC/ST Welfare and Minority Welfare – made allocations for children welfare. Now, another eight departments — Rural Development, Public Health Engineering, Disaster Management, Panchayati Raj, Planning and Development, Environment, Forest And Climate Change, Home and Finance – will make allocation under child budgeting, prepared by state government, UNICEF and the Asian Development Research Institute.

Bihar Deputy CM and state Finance Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said: “The SOP will strengthen planning and coordination process and clarify stakeholders’ role and serve as a universal guidelines for all key departments…. Between 2013-14 and 2017-18, the state had spent Rs 67,101.02 crore for those between 0 and 18 years with annual allocation increasing at 18.01 per cent and spending at 26.1 per cent”.

UNICEF’s Bihar chief Asadur Rahman said, “The SOP contains guidelines on inputs, expands the horizon of contributing departments and streamlines the process.”