Pep talk not enough: NCW

She asked Chidambaram to include girls from the 8216;8216;scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, backwards classes and even backward pockets under the ambit of Kasturba Bal Vidyalaya.8217;8217; This, she said was necessary in view of the high dropout rate among these sections of society.

Under this scheme, girls are put up in residential schools and given grants for completing their schooling.

The NCW had submitted a 10-point charter of demands to the Finance Minister. Sources said although demands on tapping water resources, health and education were given substantial allocation, the major boost was in the field of reproductive and child health. The allocations under this head have been increased from Rs 710 crore to 1,380 crore.

8216;8216;A total allocation of Rs 14,378 crore has been made as part of gender budgeting,8217;8217; Vyas said. She admitted that the budget has left women8217;s share in rural employment guarantee scheme untouched.

On the tax exemption limit for women, Vyas said, 8216;8216;We are happy that women are exempted from paying tax for an annual income of up to Rs 1.25 lakh. This is Rs 25,000 more than that for men. We would have been happier had the exemption limit been higher.8217;8217;