The ₹5 trillion question: Is India’s gender budget delivering for women entrepreneurs?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A decade has passed since India began rebuilding inclusive and progressive infrastructure for women, with the gender budget hitting ₹5 trillion in 2026-27. This represents around 9% of the Centre’s total expenditure.While the push for women’s inclusion through higher expenditure is visible, and millions of women are part of several schemes encompassing self-help groups, small businesses, and employment, among others, several gaps remain that raise questions about whether these benefits are just on paper.Data shows that over 50 million women beneficiaries are under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), and over 100 million under self-help groups, but very few are registered businesses—the share of formally registered enterprises run by women was just 20.5% in 2023-24, marginally up from 17.5% in 2021-22.While the gender budget has grown in size, the internal architecture suggests a shifting focus towards livelihood rather than women-led industrialization.

Take the two main schemes, for example: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for women. Their share in the overall gender budget nearly tripled to 8.8% in 2022-23, compared to 2015-16.

However, in recent years, it has tapered and declined to just 4.5% in 2026-27.The decline in share was due to a higher allocation to schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). This creates a credit-ownership gap where the system is exceptionally efficient at putting small amounts of money into the hands of many women, yet struggles to foster an environment where those women can transition into the formal economy as registered enterprise owners.The most