Unexplored “Bill of Rights†: A Magna Carta for Gender Justice and Budgeting in India

Abstract

This paper explores the “Bill of Rights†in the Justice Verma Committee Report as an analytical framework for gender budgeting in justice. Gender budgeting in justice, as a public good, needs effective planning and financing strategies more than just a Budget Head on “Nirbhaya Fund†in national budgets. As gender budgeting in justice is more effective at the decentralized levels, a gender-conscious fiscal devolution, rather than “one size fits all†gender budgeting policies, should be designed as the plausible entry point to integrate gender justice in fiscal federalism. If “climate change†is already integrated in the TOR of Finance Commission in India, can “TOR on gender†in the Commission be far behind?