Andhra Pradesh is set to become the first state that will come up with a gender budget this year. This gender budget will clearly list out the expenditure on schemes meant for the welfare of women.
Key Points
- The state Chief Minister announced that the gender budget will be a significant step towards sorting out issues of inequality. It will ensure that the benefits of development reach women as much as men.
- The Andhra Pradesh state government has introduced various schemes for the welfare of women, including YSR Cheyuta, YSR Asara, Amma Vodi, and Kapu Nestham.
- An amount of more than Rs 80,000 crore has been spent in 21 months.
- Other than this, the government has provided 50% reservation to women in all nominated posts and nominated works.
- Committees have been set up to check harassment of women at workplaces both in government and private institutions starting with one such panel at the Secretariat.
- As per the 2011 census, only 60% of women are literate in the state.
- In order to solve this problem and lower the burden of quality education, the government has introduced the Jagananna Amma Vodi scheme and spent around Rs 13,022 crore in two years. Further, the government will be providing Rs 32,500 crore in the next five years that will benefit more than 44.50 lakh mothers and 85 lakh students.
- Through YSR Aasara, 87.75 lakh self-help group women have given Rs 6,792 crore in 21 months while 24.56 lakh women aged between 45 and 60 years were given Rs 4,604 crore under the YSR Cheyutha scheme.
- Disha police stations have been established in each district to crack down on those committing crimes against women.
- Crimes against women have decreased by 7.50% in the year 2020 in comparison to 2019.
- As of now, charge sheets have been filed in 563 offenses within seven days of the incidents. Casual leaves for women have been increased to 20 from 15.
Earlier, state CM Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually inaugurated women help desks and cyber kiosks in police stations across the State, launched Swechha programme intended to create awareness on menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls, and flagged off a fleet of 900 Disha patrolling vehicles and 18 Disha crime scene management vehicles.
