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The 2021 budget was drawn up in unprecedented circumstances. As we go through a deadly pandemic and India’s economic situation is as dire as the battles with the Recession, The whole country looked forward to hearing words from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that could ease the lives of ordinary people.
People with disabilities as members of this society also expected a lot from the 2021 budget. Disabled people were not doing so well in the “normal” situation and the “new normal” brought many more challenges into their lives that affected their access to resources , their mobility, etc. The pandemic has hit the disabled population in the same way as other marginalized sections, and for the same reason the expectations of the disabled sector for reparations have been varied.
Also read: 2020: The year the Indian government attempted to amend three laws on vital disabilities
For many years, disability groups have been calling for the amount of the disability pension to be increased. This year, many in the community expected the introduction of unemployment benefits for people with disabilities who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Although the 2021 budget made high demands on inclusive development as a goal and one of its six pillars, his apathy towards the community of people with disabilities showed how the budget for the Department for Empowering People with Disabilities (DEPwD) was cut to INR 1325, 39 crores to INR 1171.76 crores.
However, the budget presented on February 1 was disappointing. Although the 2021 budget made high demands on inclusive development as a goal and one of its six pillars, his apathy towards the community of people with disabilities showed how the budget for the Department for Empowering People with Disabilities (DEPwD) was cut to INR 1325, 39 crores to INR 1171.76 crores. In addition, the Finance Minister has deducted the allocations for various programs related to the disabled community in the 2021 budget. Oddly enough, a flagship program launched by the Narendra Modi government with lots of advertisements in 2015. the Accessible India campaign also had no mention in the budget. How India can become accessible to all without proper recognition, let alone financial allocations, remains a mystery.
There had been attempts to reverse that National Trust Act a few months ago. This was stopped after protests by the disabled community. However, The NTA allocations have been reduced from INR 39.50 to INR 30.00 in the 2021 budget. National Trust is committed to helping people with autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and multiple disabilities and operates a health insurance system. The cut in health care allocations for these people during a raging pandemic is nothing short of gruesome.
Assignments to the National Blindness Prevention Program were reduced by almost 50 percent from INR 20 to INR 10.50 compared to the previous year. Aid to state governments has also been reduced significantly. It should be noted that most special schools are partly dependent on government grants. Many of them faced serious financial problems as personal donations also dried up due to the pandemic.
Similar cuts were recorded for other programs in the 2021 budget. Under the Disability Implementation Program, the allocation has been reduced from INR 251.50 to INR 209.77. Whether the Treasury Department is aware that the Disabled People Act is now being replaced by the Disabled People’s Rights Act also raises questions. The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) works to provide loans to small businesses started by disabled people. This year, budget support to the NHFDC has been cruelly reduced from INR 41 billion in the 2019-20 budget to a meager INR 0.01 billion. As the job market dries up, more disabled people may want to start small businesses. If this allocation is reduced, they have a much lower chance of obtaining credit and becoming financially “atmanirbhar”. The disability pension will remain the same in the 2021 budget, although expenses will increase many times over.
Also read: 12 recommendations for including women with disabilities in Covid-19
Another notable flaw in this budget is that the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) allocations are not increased. NHPC is a central government flagship program that supports mental health services. It includes DMHP or district mental health programs that focus on community-based mental health services across India. Uncertainties during the Covid pandemic, lockdowns, job losses, sudden switch to online study and work mode had a direct impact on the mental health of people in India. Suicide cases increased and mental health problems were reported more frequently. Expectations that at least this section would receive more attention from the government were not met at all. A slight increase in the budget of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Bengaluru and the Regional Institute of Mental Health of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi, Tezpur does not bring much joy in this regard, as NMHP, which offers more geographic coverage, continues to grant INR allocations 40 crores remain.
While we have discussed disability-friendly resource allocations in this article, it is evident that disabled people do not live outside of general society and will be affected by many other areas of the 2021 budget.
While we have talked about disability-friendly resource allocations in this article, it is evident that disabled people do not live outside of general society and will be affected by many other areas of the 2021 budget Reduce the budget allocation for schooling. It is important to remember that this was the first time in recent years that the education budget has been cut. The maximum decline can be seen in the Samagra Shiksha program, which is directly responsible for the implementation of the Law on the Right to Education. Government policy clearly points to merging schools and removing the number of scholarships – this will lead to more early school leavers. Needless to say, disabled students are the hardest hit. The 2021 budget has clearly shown that the Indian government does not believe in everyone’s inclusion and that “Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas” remains elusive for most of the country’s marginalized groups.
Selected image source: Onmanorama
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