Union Budget 2024: No Mention Of Empowering People With Disabilities In FM's Speech, Says Expert

Srimathi Shivashankar, CVP and Global Head - EdTech Services Business said that with no mention of empowering people with disabilities in the Union Budget speech, it lacked focus on a few aspects, especially from the empowerment point of view- Writes ETV Bharat's Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: Several experts have opined that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget Speech on July 23 had no mention of empowering people with disabilities (PwD) and bringing them into the mainstream economy through availability of jobs.

In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Srimathi Shivashankar, CVP and Global Head - EdTech Services Business confirmed that a few aspects were missed out in the budget speech, especially from the empowerment point of view.

She said, "How are we going to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream economy if we do not speak about the well being of citizens in general and also of those with communicable diseases?

How are we going to employ and uplift them if they are not spoken about in the budget? It is to be noted that one of the major concerns post the COVID-19 pandemic was dealing with mental health."

She also pointed out some of the major boons of the budget mentioning that this is one of the first budgets where the government's commitment to women-led development has been greatly magnified.

"The FM announced that investments will be made in working women's hostels and setting up creches for women who are moving from smaller towns to urban cities, mainly to boost participation of females in the workforce. She announced a total allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls."

Shivashankar pointed out that the budget mentioned some specific schemes that could catalyse the youth and women in contributing towards GDP. The FM allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crore towards education, employment and skilling.

"Over the next five years, the government will introduce an internship programme to give one crore youth opportunity at top 500 companies to receive on-the-job training," she added.

Moreover, the allocations for schemes coming under the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, including ‘Samarthya’ (supporting projects such as women’s hostels), ‘Swadhar Greh’, and ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’, have also been increased slightly.