Abstract

Children represent one of the most vulnerable sections of a society. In India, a large proportion of children face marginalisation and discrimination that significantly diminish their opportunities and life chances. Investing in children of all ages can ensure that they can be brought out of the vicious cycle of poverty, discrimination and exploitation. By ensuring children remain healthy and educated; there exists more room for fostering innovation while augmenting the country’s skilled workforce which, in turn, leads to a better economic outlook and improved social cohesion.

This policy brief refers to a public expenditure analysis of account expenditures and allocations for the child population in Karnataka between 2001 and 2015. To understand what constitutes expenditure on the child, a social protection framework which considers both risk prevention and response mechanisms was adopted. To conduct the analysis, CBPS looked at approximately 7,200 unique line items of budget documents, pertaining not only to the state budget but the allotment for Zilla panchayats as well. The analysis presented in this brief provides an understanding of how much the state spends on basic entitlements for children (education, health, nutrition etc) as well as other components of child well-being, such as legal and institutional provisions. The report identifies multiple trends in public expenditure, such as a gradual rise in child expenditure over the observed decade and a half, with most expenditure on children still largely revenue based. The brief concludes with some recommendations based on the observations made in the analysis.

CBPS. (2015). Public expenditure on chlidren in Karnataka: trends and tales. India: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, and UNICEF Hyderabad Field Office.