West Bengal, one of the states with the highest utilization of Nirbhaya funds, ranked 11th with 1,111 rape cases reported in 2022, according to data collated by NCRB. (Photo: PTI Files).
The Nirbhaya Fund was initially established in 2013 after the 2012 Nirbhaya Gangrape case to improve the safety of women across India.
The RG Kar rape and murder case in Kolkata has sparked a much-needed and serious discussion about women's safety in India, focusing on the alarming number of sexual assault cases reported in the country.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also pointed out during the Suo-moto hearing on the Kolkata rape case on Tuesday that “the country cannot wait for another rape case to really change the status quo” and severely criticized the West Bengal government for its alleged inaction.
However, the bigger question remains how things have changed on the ground since an empowered committee was set up in 2015 to formulate and streamline funding for the Nirbhaya Fund.
The Nirbhaya Fund was initially established in 2013 in the wake of the infamous Nirbhaya Gangrape case to improve the safety of women across India.
As per the Ministry of Women and Child Development, an Empowerment Committee was constituted on October 26, 2015 to evaluate and recommend proposals funded under the Nirbhaya Fund.
Since then, there have been an average of 28,972 cases per year, or about 63.5 cases per day.
Rape cases since the commission was established [Source: NCRB]
2015: 34,651 (daily: 94.2)
2016: 38,947 (daily: 106.0)
2017: 32,559 (daily: 89.0)
2018: 33,356 (daily: 91.6)
2019: 32,033 (daily: 87.6)
2020: 28,046 (daily: 76.7)
2021: 31,677 (daily: 86.5)
2022: 31,516 (Daily: 86.0)
The number of rape cases in India has dropped by just 9.1% since 2015, with numbers remaining essentially the same between 2019 and 2022 unless the number of reported cases drops completely in 2020.
The Government of India, as per its reply to the Lok Sabha on August 2, 2024, has allocated a total of Rs 7,212.85 million to the Nirbhaya Fund, of which Rs 5,512.97 million (nearly 76%) has been utilized by states and states.
Below is the state-by-state breakdown given by the Government of India in its reply to the Lok Sabha on February 10, 2023
Top 4 Usage States/Union Territories
Delhi:
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Total allocation: Rs 422.08 crore
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Total utilization: Rs 413.07 Crore
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Usage rate: 97.9%
Lakshadweep Islands:
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Total allocation: Rs 54 Lakhs
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Total utilization: Rs 4.96 million
-
Usage rate: 92.6%
Tamil Nadu:
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Total allocation: Rs 329.59 crore
-
Total utilization: Rs 304.47 crore
-
Usage rate: 92.4%
West Bengal:
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Total allocation: Rs 104.72 Crore
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Total utilization: Rs 9,532 crore
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Usage rate: 91.2%
Bottom four states/UTs ranked by utilization
Ladakh-UT:
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Total allocation: Rs 454 crore
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Total utilization: Rs 127 crore
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Usage rate: 27.9%
Arunachal Pradesh:
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Total allocation: Rs 4,597 crore
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Total utilization: Rs 16.05 million
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Usage rate: 34.9%
Andhra Pradesh:
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Total allocation: Rs 123.18 crore
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Total utilization: Rs 4,197 crore
-
Usage rate: 34.1%
Meghalaya:
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Total allocation: Rs 2,930 crore
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Total utilization: Rs 1,236 crore
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Usage rate: 42.2%
West Bengal, one of the states with the highest utilization of Nirbhaya funds, ranked 11th with 1,111 rape cases reported in 2022, according to data collated by NCRB.
Notably, NCRB only provides data provided by states to the central government.
