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In its review of the Union Budget for FY 2025-26, Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-profit organisation has highlighted a rise in allocations for child welfare programs compared to the previous year, with an overall increase of Rs 6,211.55 crore.
The total allocation for children's welfare now stands at Rs 116,132.5 crore, up from Rs 109,920.95 crore in FY 2024-25.
This marks a slight increase in the proportion of the child-welfare budget to the total Union Budget, which now accounts for 2.29 per cent, up from 2.28 per cent last year.
However, when measured as a percentage of India's GDP, the child welfare budget has seen a small decline, from 0.34 per cent in FY 2024-25 to 0.33 per cent in FY 2025-26.
Key highlights of the budget include significant increases in allocations for child health and education.
The budget for child health schemes, such as the Flexible Pool for RCH & Health System Strengthening, saw an increase to Rs 4,330.43 crore, up from Rs 4,153.48 crore in 2024-25.
Additionally, programs like Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 have received a 3.58 per cent increase in funding.
In the education sector, Mission Vatsalya received an allocation of Rs 1,500 crore, while the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan saw a substantial 10% increase, reaching Rs 41,250 crore.
The PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) program also saw a major boost, with funding rising by nearly 24 per cent.
While most allocations have increased, certain programs experienced cuts, such as the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, which saw a decrease of 8.53 per cent.
On the other hand, scholarships for SC, ST, OBC, EBC, and DNT students have seen varied increases, with some, like the Post-Matric Scholarship for OBCs, seeing substantial rises.