Abstract
Despite being one of India’s most economically progressive states, Maharashtra’s human development trajectory has been plagued by severe inequalities with pronounced gendered implications. In order to unpack the role of the state in responding to the needs of women, girls and transgender persons through policies and budgets, this article deep dives into the public investment for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Maharashtra. We map policy priorities from the State Policy for Women 2014 to schemes and budgets as reported in the state’s first Gender Budget Statement 2020–2021. The study finds there is a large gap between policy and implementation, and that the investment on women, girls and transgender persons is abysmally inadequate. The analysis points to the lack of holistic investment across critical sectors, absence of a transformative enabling environment and insufficient interventions for the intersectional gender needs of the most vulnerable.
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