Bhopal, May 13 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Women and Child Development Minister Nirmala Bhuria said on Wednesday that the holistic development of children would be the foundation for the state’s sustainable and inclusive growth.

Addressing the ‘Child Budgeting in Madhya Pradesh’ workshop organised jointly by the Department of Women and Child Development and Unicef in Bhopal, the Minister added that the 2026–27 State Budget reflects the state government’s strong commitment towards children.

She said the budget for child-related sectors has witnessed a historic increase of 26 per cent this year.

The Minister noted that the state government has allocated Rs 23,747 crore for health and nutrition schemes, including Poshan 2.0, while 13.7 per cent of the total state expenditure has been earmarked for education.

Minister Bhuria stressed that child development cannot be handled by a single department alone and highlighted the need for better coordination among multiple departments.

She said the Child Budget Statement now includes 19 departments, including Health, Education, Panchayat and Rural Development, Tribal Affairs and Social Justice.

“All departments must work together with a common objective so that the benefits of government schemes reach children effectively at the grassroots level,” she added.

The Minister also asked officials to prepare district-specific plans, noting that the needs of children differ across Madhya Pradesh’s 55 districts.

On this occasion, William Hanlon, Chief of Field Operations for Unicef Madhya Pradesh, said that the state has successfully completed five years of Child Budgeting and is now moving beyond mere expenditure reporting toward outcome-based budgeting.

“Given Madhya Pradesh’s significant tribal population, the budget must ensure equity based on gender and geographical location,” he added.

Christina Popivanova, Unicef’s Delhi Chief of Social Policy, described the initiative by Madhya Pradesh as being fully aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

She asserted that the goal of a ‘Developed India’ by 2047 can only be realised if investment in children is viewed not merely from the perspective of ‘beneficiaries’, but rather on the basis of ‘productivity’.

–IANS

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