Budget 2019: What women entrepreneurs want from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

All eyes will be on Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, as she presents the Union Budget 2019 in Parliament on Friday, July 5.

Sitharaman is not new to the limelight. As India’s first full-time Defence Minister during the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) previous term, she navigated tricky situations, closed deals, and faced constant criticism with aplomb.

And as a Finance Minister presenting a Budget within a couple of months of being appointed, Sitharaman has her work cut out for her.

As expectations are sky-high from different business sectors as well as ordinary citizens of the country, there is also plenty of interest surrounding what the Union Budget will augur for Indian women.

Will the Finance Minister take into account the challenges of women in the workforce, the desperate need for girls’ education, women’s safety, gender neutrality, better healthcare, boosting female entrepreneurship, and more?

Women on top?

In its previous term, the BJP-led government introduced a slew of schemes for women, like the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Matritva Suraksha Abhiyan, and Ayushman Bharat, the focus of which all aimed at ensuring good quality, accessible, and affordable maternal healthcare services for all women.

The government also introduced the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme, to focus on affordable quality education for young girls and financial support in the form of loans and subsidies for higher education.

The government also claims to have focussed on providing basic resources to women through various schemes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and Saubhagya.

The BJP Manifesto for General Elections 2019 mentioned the word “women” 37 times in its 48-page manifesto. It promised sweeping changes and far-reaching measures in the fields of skilling and development, education, women’s safety and security, and vowed to support gender equality.

But reality speaks differently.

Worrying statistics

Data suggests India lost between $1.4 trillion and $2.8 trillion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018 due to lower female participation in the workforce. To put that in perspective, this loss is equivalent to the entire economy of France.

Other statistics were also very telling of the priority given to women and their needs in India. The Thomson Reuters Perception survey adjudged India as the most unsafe country for women in the world, while Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) 2018 placed India at a lowly 52nd of 57 countries when it came to women entrepreneurs’ ability to capitalise on opportunities offered by their local environments.

Gender inequality abounds in India Inc. According to a survey by community social media network LocalCircles, startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still wary of hiring women, owing to added financial burden after the government increased the paid maternity leave benefit to 26 weeks from 12 weeks in 2017. Further, findings from the World Economic Forum indicate that India is one of the worst countries in the world in terms of gender inequality. The 2011 United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report ranked India 132 out of 187 in terms of gender inequality.

In light of where we stand as a nation, HerStory spoke to a few women from different sectors to gauge their expectations from India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister; how women’s lives can be improved and how the girl child can be empowered, along with these women entrepreneurs’ wishlists for their own sectors.

Reforms in retail and more for women’s empowerment

“I am personally very interested in seeing the reforms in retail and education sector. It is expected that the retail sector will see a reduction in Goods and Service Tax (GST) and better foreign direct investment (FDI) laws to improve the foreign investment ecosystem. Retail has direct impact on the logistics sector, which is still largely unorganised and was massively hit by the demonetisation and GST reforms during the Modi government’s previous term. This Union Budget should focus on stabilising that impact. The good trend observed was the drastic adoption and acceptance of technology by this sector, which has majorly improved the overall logistics infrastructure. The education sector, on the other hand, should see a comparatively lower GST considering the fact that it’s a basic necessity and it should not have the same 18 percent GST as that of lifestyle and luxury brands.

 “In the recent decade, we have seen more women leaders stepping forth and taking charge and running companies, especially visible in the startup ecosystem. Since it’s the first time in Indian history that a woman Finance Minister is presenting the Union Budget 2019, I am expecting major reforms focused on women empowerment, like:

• Subsidised or incentivised benefits forcing companies to maintain gender neutrality in the workplace, going down to specifics like a perfect women-to-men ratio.
• More programmes funded by the government to create the next batch of highly productive women entrepreneurs.
• Improved programmes to empower women in Tier II and III cities with better women safety infrastructure.”

-Manisha Raisinghani, CTO & Co-founder, LogiNext

Health and funding should be top priority

“I am looking at special startup funds for women in agricultural and employment-related startups. There should be an exemption for women-led startups and removal/reduction of GST on education, coaching, skilling, and placement. I believe that good health empowers women. And since Indian families do not spend on women’s health, medical bills of all women should be refunded or paid by the government. Education for girls should be free until graduation. Also, I propose free buses run by female staff, especially in rural areas so that women feel safe and parents send them to school.”

-Shipra Sharma Bhutani, CEO, Capacita Connect

Better and renewed focus on education

“Expenditure on education was 2.8 percent of GDP in 2014-15. It is claimed to be 4.6 percent now. Most countries that do well educationally have a GDP spend of six percent and more. Also, the government is politicising education for popular vote and is doing so at the cost of private investment and entrepreneurship in education.

“I believe in equality in all senses of the word; I don’t think special initiatives targeting women is something that appeals to me. As an educator, I would just like to see more of the Budget spent on education. Also, I find it commendable that we have a woman holding the Finance portfolio, which is conventionally seen as a male-dominated skill and position.”

-Lina Ashar, Founder of Kangaroo Kids, and Billabong High

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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