Child Rights Groups Welcome Budget 2026 Push
Just Rights for Children calls higher child-focused allocation timely and hopeful
- Child welfare allocation rises 14% in Union Budget 2026–27
- Total outlay for children increases to ₹1.32 lakh crore
- Civil society groups term budget “in line with expectations”
- Focus on education, skills and ending child marriage highlighted
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 2nd Feb: Child protection organisations have welcomed the Union Budget 2026, citing a decisive and long-awaited increase in allocations for children. Just Rights for Children (JRC), India’s largest civil society network working on child protection with over 250 partner organisations, described the budget as “in line with expectations”.
The total budgetary allocation for child welfare has risen from ₹1,16,133 crore in FY 2025–26 to ₹1,32,297 crore in FY 2026–27, marking a 14 per cent increase.
Welcoming the budget, JRC National Convenor Ravi Kant said the enhanced allocation sends a strong signal of the government’s commitment to child rights and education. He noted that for the first time in over a decade, the share of children’s allocation in the total Union Budget has increased.
“Compared to last year, the 14 per cent rise in the child welfare budget for FY 2026–27 is not only important but necessary,” he said. “With higher allocations for skill development, Eklavya Model Residential Schools, tribal affairs, minority welfare and the Jal Jeevan Mission, India has adopted a clear policy direction towards the goals of a developed nation and a child marriage-free India.”
Ravi Kant further emphasised that child marriage is both a cause and a consequence of deep-rooted social and economic inequalities. He said the current budget takes a meaningful step towards addressing these challenges by investing in girls’ education, skills and self-reliance.
“Without empowering girls, the commitment to eliminate child marriage by 2030 will remain difficult to achieve,” he added.
The network said the increased focus on children’s welfare reflects a stronger alignment between fiscal policy and long-term social development goals, particularly in education, equity and protection of vulnerable children.
