NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday, announced a significant increase in allocations for women and child development programs, along with key relief measures for senior citizens and vulnerable communities.
Addressing concerns over old National Savings Scheme (NSS) accounts, Sitharaman announced that withdrawals from these accounts, which no longer accrue interest, will be exempt from taxation for individuals making withdrawals on or after August 29, 2024.
She also proposed extending similar treatment to NPS Vatsalya accounts, ensuring they receive the same benefits as regular NPS accounts, within existing limits.
“It is proposed to extend the tax benefits available to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) under sub-section (1B) of section 80CCD of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the contributions made to the NPS Vatsalya accounts, as applicable,” FM Sitharaman said.
The ministry of women and child development (WCD) has been allocated Rs 26,889.69 crore, marking an increase from the Rs 23,182.98 crore revised estimate for 2024-25.
The largest share—Rs 21,960 crore—has been set aside for Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, a program aimed at combating malnutrition and strengthening early childhood care. This is an increase from Rs 20,070.90 crore in the previous year’s budget.
“These programs provide nutritional support to over 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant and lactating women, and 20 lakh adolescent girls across aspirational districts and the Northeast region,” Sitharaman said, adding that cost norms for these programs will be enhanced accordingly.
Mission Vatsalya, the government’s flagship child protection scheme, has seen its budget rise to Rs 1,500 crore, up from Rs 1,391 crore in 2024-25. The program supports institutional and family-based care for vulnerable children through sponsorships, foster care, adoption, and emergency outreach services such as childline and the child tracking system.
For women’s empowerment, Mission Shakti has received Rs 3,150 crore, covering two major components: Sambal (Rs 629 crore), which includes Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, One Stop Centres, Women’s Helpline, and Mahila Police Volunteers, and Samarthya (Rs 2,521 crore), which covers initiatives like Swadhar Greh for women in distress, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Working Women’s Hostels, and the National Creche Scheme.
The Nirbhaya Fund, which finances safety and security initiatives for women, has been allocated Rs 30 crore.
The budget also includes targeted funding for tribal communities, with Rs 120 crore allocated to the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) to support 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
The increased allocations to key programs signal to strengthen early childhood care, improve nutrition, and enhance protection for vulnerable groups across the country.
