The Women Component Plan (WCP) is a planning and budgeting strategy introduced by the Government of India to ensure that women receive an equitable share of benefits from development programmes. It aims to mainstream gender concerns into the planning process by earmarking a specific proportion of funds for schemes that directly benefit women. The concept emerged during the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997–2002), which recommended that not less than 30 percent of funds or benefits in women-related sectors should be allocated for women. The Women Component Plan is closely associated with gender budgeting, as it seeks to make public expenditure more gender-responsive and to promote women's empowerment through targeted investments. The primary objective of the Women Component Plan is to improve the socio-economic status of women by increasing their access to education, healthcare, employment, skill development, financial services, housing, and social security. It recognizes that women often face unequal access to resources and opportunities due to social, cultural, and economic barriers. Therefore, the plan ensures that development policies and programmes address these inequalities and contribute to gender justice. The Women Component Plan is not a separate scheme but an approach integrated into various ministries and departments. Government agencies identify schemes that directly benefit women and earmark a specified proportion of their budget for female beneficiaries. This enables better tracking of expenditure on women and ensures accountability in achieving gender-related goals. It also supports gender audits by evaluating whether allocated resources are effectively reaching women and producing the intended outcomes. The implementation of the Women