India Budget to Cut Funds to CARA by 74.6 Percent
“As much as 5.3 per cent of the Union Budget for 2012-13 is Budget for Children (BfC) with an increase of 0.3 per cent since 2011-12. This must be set against the inflation rate of 6.6 per cent.
The increase can be attributed to the increased allocation in the development sector by 66.2 per cent and health by 29.7 per cent. However, as always, the share of the protection sector remains the lowest, an analysis of the budget for children’s component by HAQ, a child rights group, suggests.”
“Given the government’s promises to pay attention to streamlining adoptions in the country, HAQ’s analysis points out that the 74.6 per cent decrease in allocation for the Central Adoption Resource Agency is indeed disappointing. The decision comes at a time when large-scale trafficking in children for adoption is an established fact and there is an urgent need for stringent regulation in this field.
The overall increase by 66.2 per cent in the development sector is largely due to the 71.6 per cent increase in the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). However, the ICDS programme has largely by-passed children with disabilities and Dalit and minority groups.”
“The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has “rejected” the budget and condemned its failure to protect the interests of women. Coming in the wake of the economic crisis, the budget aims at inducing growth by directly and indirectly supporting the aspirations of the corporate players, even while it compromises on cushioning the impact of the price rise and inflation on the common people and the working class. “
[The Hindu 3/18/12 by Aarti Dhar]
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