UN Women's Office in India, based in New Delhi, works with the Government of India, other UN agencies, civil society, the private sector and influencers to achieve India's strategic priorities for women's advancement. Our programmes focus on upholding women's human rights and providing opportunities for women and girls to live up to their full potential.

UN Women India supports the National and State Governments prepare their gender bud- gets. Gender budgets are budgets that plan and meet the needs of women. We have helped prepare gender budgets within sectors such as agriculture, urban development, and village council development

Agriculture is the principal source of livelihood for more than 58% of the population in India. Evidence from various nationally representative survey points to the fact that an overwhelming majority of women are involved in agriculture as cultivators and agricultural labourers across rural India. Despite women’s vital contribution to agriculture and other allied sectors in India, they lack control over productive assets such as land and livestock and in accessing technologies, irrigation...

The transgender (TG) community is one of the most marginalized social groups in India. Historically subjected to structural violence, the TG community continues to face widespread stigma and discrimination at the hands of their own families, society and even the state. Despite some recent progressive measures by the government, the community’s social mainstreaming and access to rights and entitlements remains shrouded in challenges. 'The Transgender Question in India: Policy and Budgetary...

An assessment of programmes and schemes for the empowerment of religious minorities in India reveals that Muslim women and girls remain largely invisible in the overall policy framework. 'People at the margins: Whose Budgets? Whose Rights? - Locating Muslim Women in Indian Policy', published by UN Women and Ford Foundation draws from a study of the Prime Minister’s New 15 Points Programme in the four states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, to identify key gaps in policy...

The marginalization of Dalit women is specifically compounded by the absence of quality education and supportive infrastructure. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme (KGBVS) was launched to enable girls, predominantly from marginalized communities, to avail upper primary education through residential schooling. Data collected from 12 KGBVs in Aurangabad and Munger districts of Bihar reveal that aspirations of Dalit girls and their parents for quality education remain largely unfulfilled....

UN Women commissioned BASIX--a new generation livelihood promotion institution--to carry out a gender analysis of banking sector policies, financial products and services in India. The project commenced in September 2012 and concluded in April 2013. Select banking sector policies were reviewed to identify barriers women face while accessing financial support and the appropriateness of financial products for women’s empowerment. Methods to draw gender responsive indicators for effective...

In Volume II of this report, we present detailed analysis of four industries/sectors that are regarded as green or ‘close to green’. This includes an analysis of the horticulture and agro processing industry in Bangladesh; agro processing in Bhutan; renewable energy and organic horticulture in India; and ecotourism in Nepal. The focus in each study is to examine the pattern of women’s employment in the relevant sector using information gathered directly from the fi eld and from...

The impact of opening up of trade opportunities has always been diff erent for diff erent groups of people, often exacerbating inequalities in the absence of counteractive measures and barriers. While inequalities exist in many forms – across the rich and the poor, the skilled and unskilled, the urban and the rural –the focus of this research is on the inequality between women and men. When we add to this mix of trade and gender, the aspect of sustainability in development or...

This document is a more detailed version of the presentation titled “Towards Economic Growth: Ideas Emerging from Gendered Analysis” prepared by the Working Group of Feminist Economists in the context of the Twelfth Plan Approach and shared with the Planning Commission.

The Concept Paper on Gender Responsive Governance examines the manner in which governance processes can be understood through a gendered framework. It discusses the evolving and expanding notion of governance.

The report ‘Evaluation of UN Women’s Work on Gender Responsive Budgeting in India’ was conducted to review the UN Women GRB programme’s current strategy and work plan, and to share learnings which will guide its future direction.

This report by the Planning Commission, Government of India, presents the findings from the Planning Commission’s Mid Term Assessment of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.