While taking note of the ninth and tenth plan, women were seen as mere benefeciaries of several welfare measures. However, the attempt at mainstreaming them into the planning process in fact began in the ninth plan period when LSGs were instructed to make an overall gender impact assessment of projects as well as mandated to set apart 10% of the total plan funds specifically for addressing women's needs. At panchayath level now in Kerala, there are specific structures and processes through which lot of democratic space is thrown for women to participate in the budgetary processes.

A concrete approach to make gender visible in every sector of economy was formulated in the XIth plan period. In this plan a broader approach has been visualized to ensure recognition of women’s roles and activities which would help in framing of sectoral/sub-sectoral programmes addressing their needs. Based on the understanding of gender concerns, the plan visualized two flagship schemes—one to overcome gender discrimination and ensure a more gender sensitive social environment and the other to strengthen women economically through Finishing Schools for Women.

The 2006-07 budget did make an attempt to make women more visible in the Budget document with a special section on Welfare of Women in which the need for gender auditing has been explicitly recognized. However, the plan allocations account for almost 8 percent, a considerable increase compared to last year’s budget allocation, indicating a positive directional change in favour of women.

The latest budget (2008-09) can also be viewed as a gender sensitive one. A sizeable amount has been set apart for gender awareness programmes and special finishing school for women. In addition to this, Rs 30 crores was kept apart for the smooth functioning of Kudumbasree. Steps on constituting a gender board were also dealt in the same.

“A women's budget or a gender-sensitive budget is not a separate budget for women. Rather, it is an Analysis of the government budget to establish the budget's differential impact on women and men and on different groups of women and men. A gender-sensitive budget is about taking government's gender commitments and translating them in to budgetary commitments”.
[Source: "How to do a gender-sensitive budget Analysis". Contemporary research and practice, Debbie Budlender & Rhonda Sharp with Kerri Allen]

* Source: Economic Review-2007