Oral Statement – India

Human Rights Council March, 2019      

                                                                   

                                                                        

Mr. President,

Edmund Rice International, along with the children of India’s NINEISMINE campaign and PRATYeK would like to draw your attention to the Union Government of India’s budgetary allocation for children in India.

NINEISMINE is an advocacy initiative of, for and by the children of India, and it derives its name from the promise made in 2004 by the Indian government to invest 6% of the GDP on children’s education and 3% on children’s health.

Even though subsequent Indian governments have promised 6% for education and 3% on health, the expenditure on education, as per the government Economic Survey of 2018, fell from 3.1% in 2012-13 to 2.6% in 2016-17. *

Also, according to the National Health Profile 2018, the Indian government currently spends just 1.02% of its GDP on Public Health.

According to the Interim Union budget announced on the 1st of February 2019, the largest democracy in the world intends to march towards a 10 Trillion Dollar Economy with only 3.25% invested in its children who make up one third of the population. This is further divided into 0.11% for Health, 0.97% for Child Development, 2.16% for Education and just 0.07% on child protection. 

 Since 2006, ERI and its partners have been actively campaigning and lobbying for a ‘Children budget’ both nationally and at the HRC using the UPR mechanism and once again ERI strongly recommends that:

1.         The Union Government of India announce annually its’ ‘Children’s Budget’/ and comply with its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of a Child. **

2.         All major political parties announce their ‘Children’s Budget’ in their manifestoes for the upcoming General Elections in April – May 2019.

Thank you.

Mr. President,

Edmund Rice International, along with the children of India’s NINEISMINE campaign and PRATYeK would like to draw your attention to the Union Government of India’s budgetary allocation for children in India.

NINEISMINE is an advocacy initiative of, for and by the children of India, and it derives its name from the promise made in 2004 by the Indian government to invest 6% of the GDP on children’s education and 3% on children’s health.

Even though subsequent Indian governments have promised 6% for education and 3% on health, the expenditure on education, as per the government Economic Survey of 2018, fell from 3.1% in 2012-13 to 2.6% in 2016-17. *

Also, according to the National Health Profile 2018, the Indian government currently spends just 1.02% of its GDP on Public Health.

According to the Interim Union budget announced on the 1st of February 2019, the largest democracy in the world intends to march towards a 10 Trillion Dollar Economy with only 3.25% invested in its children who make up one third of the population. This is further divided into 0.11% for Health, 0.97% for Child Development, 2.16% for Education and just 0.07% on child protection. 

 Since 2006, ERI and its partners have been actively campaigning and lobbying for a ‘Children budget’ both nationally and at the HRC using the UPR mechanism and once again ERI strongly recommends that:

1.        The Union Government of India announce annually its’ ‘Children’s Budget’/ and comply with its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of a Child. **

2.      All major political parties announce their ‘Children’s Budget’ in their manifestoes for the upcoming General Elections in April – May 2019.

Thank you.