Dalit Adivasi Budget Analysis 2022-23

FOCUS

Published in February 2022, this analysis is part of an annual series by the Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan (DAAA) of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Right, New Delhi. Motivated by the importance of resource allocation towards Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) amidst increasing inequality, this report examines the 2022-23 Union Budget. 

The report focuses on three main aspects of the Union Budget: (i) the amount allocated, (ii) the proportion of schemes directly benefitting SCs and STs, and (iii) budget credibility.

The 22-page document is organized into seven sections, beginning with an introduction to the importance of Dalit and Adivasi budgeting to support vulnerable citizens. This is in the context of Covid-19 wreaking havoc on migrant workers and high levels of unemployment. Section 2 features an analysis of budget credibility, which is the gap between the approved budget and fund utilization. Section 3 focuses on education justice. Section 4 analyzes schemes targeting SCs and STs and Section 5 considers schemes that benefit women. Sections 6 and 7 look at access to land and justice, respectively, before a set of recommendations are outlined.

    FACTOIDS

  1. In 2022-23, Rs. 1,42,342.36 crores has been allocated for SCs, and Rs. 89,265.12 crores for STs.

  2. The report states that 329 schemes were allocated under the allocation for the welfare of SCs (AWSC) and 336 schemes under the allocation for the welfare of STs (AWST).

  3. NITI Aayog guidelines mandate that AWSC and AWST should be proportionate to the respective shares in the population. Based on these benchmarks, there is a gap in allocation of Rs. 40,634 crores for SCs and Rs. 9,399 crores for STs.

  4. Union budget allocations for employment generation schemes among SCs were reduced from Rs. 170.96 crores in 2021-22 to Rs. 22.97 crores in 2022-23, while the corresponding allocations for STs fell from Rs. 89.50 crores to 11.30 crores over the same period.

  5. Allocations for labour welfare schemes for SCs also fell from 24.90 crores in 2021-22 to 19.88 crores in 2022-23, whereas the STs also experienced a drop in allocation from 12.90 crores to 10.66 crores.

  6. In the financial year 2020-21, 86 per cent of the total budget allocated for SC schemes and 92 per cent for ST schemes was utilized. Both represented an increase in budget utilization compared to the financial year 2019-20.

  7. Despite the passing of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act in 2013, manual scavenging is still prevalent n India, the report notes. In 2022-23, the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers was allocated Rs. 70 crores, compared to Rs. 100 crores in the previous year.

  8. The Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) for SCs under AWSC increased to Rs. 5,660 crores in 2022-23 from Rs. 3,416 crores in the previous year, but the PMS allocation for STs under AWST decreased to Rs. 1,965 crores from Rs. 1,993 crores.

  9. The report states that 50,291 crimes against Dalits and 8,272 against Adivasis were committed in 2020, up from 45,935 and 8,257 cases in 2019. The total number of crimes against Dalit women numbered 7,510 in 2019, up from 6,818 in 2018.

  10. In 2022-23, Rs. 600 crores have been allocated for the implementation of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, with Rs. 180 crores earmarked to address crimes against Dalit women.

  11. The government has allocated Rs. 20,472.12 crores for SCs and Rs. 10,606.04 crores for STs to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.


    Focus and Factoids by Parijat Lal.


    PARI Library’s health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.

AUTHOR

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights – Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan

COPYRIGHT

National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, New Delhi

PUBLICATION DATE

Feb, 2022

TAGS

#budget #scheduled-caste #scheduled-tribe #adivasi #dalit

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