Growing Up as Boys and Girls

UPSC GS2 — Women and domestic work:

The "invisible" work:

• Cooking, cleaning, childcare, elder care — essential to household functioning
• Done overwhelmingly by women and girls — globally and in India
• NOT counted in GDP: National accounts statistics don't include unpaid household work
• If counted, estimates suggest unpaid care work = 10–39% of GDP (ILO estimates)

India's situation:

• Time Use Survey 2019 (MoSPI): Women in India spend 299 minutes per day on unpaid domestic services; men spend 97 minutes — women do 3x more unpaid domestic work
• This unpaid work limits women's time for education, paid work, rest, and civic participation
• Double burden: Women who enter the paid workforce also continue to do most domestic work

Why domestic work is undervalued:

• Not paid → treated as "natural" contribution, not work
• Done in private sphere → invisible to public
• Associated with femininity → culturally devalued
• No employment protections (minimum wage, working hours, leave)

Policy responses:

• Count unpaid work in national accounts (satellite accounts)
• Maternity Benefit Act protections for paid work
• Creches and childcare (National Creche Scheme)
• Redistributing domestic work through better infrastructure (LPG, clean cookstoves, piped water — reduce time burden on women)
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: LPG connections to BPL households; frees women from collecting firewood; reduces indoor air pollution

[Additional] India's Gender Budget — GBS Structure and 2025-26 Allocations (GS2 — Social Justice / GS3 — Economy):

Gender Budget Statement — history and structure:

GBS structure — three parts:

Gender Budget 2025-26 — headline numbers:

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) — FY 2025-26 allocation:

Note: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is now subsumed under Mission Shakti > SAMBAL (not a standalone scheme). PM Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is under Mission Shakti > SAMARTHYA.

UPSC synthesis: Gender Budget = GS2 + GS3. Key exam facts: GBS started = 2005-06; Ministry of Finance issues circular; MoWCD = nodal ministry; Part A = 100% for women; Part B = 30-99%; Part C = below 30% (added 2024-25); 2025-26 Gender Budget = Rs. 4.49 lakh crore = 8.86% of Union Budget = +37.25% increase; MoWCD total = Rs. 26,889 crore; Mission Shakti = SAMBAL (safety) + SAMARTHYA (empowerment). Prelims trap: Part C is new from 2024-25 (NOT from 2005-06 — the original GBS had only Part A and Part B; Part C was added only in the 2024-25 budget); Gender Budget is NOT a separate budget — it is a Statement in the main Union Budget Expenditure Profile; nodal ministry = MoWCD (NOT Ministry of Finance — Finance issues the circular but WCD coordinates); Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is now under Mission Shakti > SAMBAL (NOT a standalone scheme as it was originally).

[Additional] Women's LFPR — PLFS 2023-24 Data, Drivers, and Key Schemes (GS2 — Social Justice / GS3 — Economy):

Female LFPR trend (PLFS Annual Reports — usual principal + subsidiary status, age 15+):

Rural vs. Urban breakdown (2023-24):

The rural increase is dramatic — rural female LFPR nearly doubled. 76.95% of rural women workers are in agriculture (PLFS 2023-24).

India vs. global comparison (female LFPR, 15+):

India is below the global average but now significantly above the South Asian average — a reversal of the earlier position.

What drove the increase? — three drivers:

1. MGNREGS women's participation:

State extremes: Tamil Nadu (~87%), Kerala (~89-90%) have highest women's share; J&K has lowest (~30%).

2. Self-employment surge (critical qualifier): Most of the increase is in self-employment in rural areas — not in regular/salaried jobs. This is significant because self-employment is more vulnerable (lower wages, no social security). UPSC expects awareness of this nuance.

3. SHGs under DAY-NRLM:

SHG-Bank Linkage Programme started by NABARD in 1992. The 10 crore SHG member target was achieved by 2024 under PM Modi's mandate.

PM Vishwakarma Scheme:

The "self-employment nuance" — UPSC Mains point: India's female LFPR rise is real but primarily reflects rural self-employment (farming, animal husbandry, home-based work) rather than formal sector participation. Urban female LFPR at 28% remains significantly below the global average. The quality of employment (regular, salaried vs. casual/self-employed) matters as much as the participation rate itself.

UPSC synthesis: Women's LFPR = GS2 Social Justice + GS3 Economy. Key exam facts: Female LFPR (PLFS 2023-24) = 41.7% = up from 23.3% in 2017-18 = +18.4 pp increase; Rural female LFPR = 47.6% = up from 24.6%; Urban female LFPR = 28.0%; India vs. global = below global average 52.4% but ABOVE South Asia average 24.8%; MGNREGS women's share = 58.88% (2023-24) = 10-year high; SHGs = 90.90 lakh SHGs = 10.05 crore women members (DAY-NRLM, October 2024); bank credit = Rs. 10.20 lakh crore cumulative; NABARD SHG-Bank Linkage = 1992; PM Vishwakarma = launched September 17, 2023 = 68% women beneficiaries. Prelims trap: Female LFPR increase is largely in rural self-employment (NOT formal sector salaried jobs — urban LFPR rose less dramatically); India's female LFPR (41.7%) is BELOW global average (52.4%) but ABOVE South Asia average (24.8%) — the comparison matters; SHG-Bank Linkage started by NABARD (NOT by RBI; NOT by DAY-NRLM — DAY-NRLM is the government programme but the bank linkage concept started with NABARD in 1992); Gender Budget started 2005-06 (NOT 1995 or 2000 — a common error; the Beijing Platform for Action was 1995 but India's GBS started 10 years later); MGNREGS women's share = 58.88% in 2023-24 (NOT 50% or 40% — the statutory minimum is 33%; actual share exceeds this significantly).