Hyderabad, Feb. 12 -- The Nirbhaya fund announced in 2012 in the aftermath of the gang rape case in Delhi, to reduce violence against women, goes "underused", says a new report by NGO Oxfam India. The report highlights that since its inception, the fund has received annual additions that go underutilized and underfunded.

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram announced the fund in his 2013-2014 budget and allocated Rs.1,000 crore to the fund.

The annual budgetary requirement stands at Rs.10,000-11,000 crore to be directed only towards schemes that benefit women. However, the recent 2021-22 budget does not even allocate 25 per cent of what is required.

Most of the Nirbhaya fund has gone to the home ministry, police, railway, roads, etc....