Budget 26 has been overtaken by news that the Indo-US trade deal has finally been clinched. Farmers’ organisations have already expressed apprehension that allowing zero per cent import tariffs on US goods may end up destroying the livelihoods of Indian farmers. While we await the finer details of this deal, it would be a good time to analyse to what extent Budget 26 will help Indian women, who comprise half the population, a large percentage of whom are working in the field of agriculture.

A sizeable number of these women are landless and are entirely dependent on daily labour, which is seasonal and poorly paid, especially since mechanisation, monocropping, and the acquisition of large tracts of land for public development purposes have led to their displacement. This has led to a drop in their wages and increased rural indebtedness.

Shift from MGNREGA raises alarm

Sadly, the shift from MGNREGA to VB-GRAM G will be the last straw on the camel’s back as far as women’s agricultural labour is concerned because, on the ground, it will mean a change from a rights-based and demand-led to a budget-capped, supply-driven scheme.

The three pillars of women’s empowerment are health, education and livelihood. None of these have been adequately addressed in Budget 26.

Digitisation and declining participation

Prof. Vibhuti Patel of TISS, Mumbai (retd), believes that digitisation was a key reason for the sharp reduction of women’s labour participation in MGNREGA. “Digital connectivity remains low in rural areas and so prevented real-time attendance uploading, especially since many women lacked smartphones. The use of biometrics requiring........

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