patna deputy cm sushil kumar modi who also holds the finance portfolio released the standard operating procedure sop for child budgeting in the state on the occasion of childrens day on thursdaythe sop launch was organised by state finance department in collaboration with unicefbihar and the asian development research institute adri unicefbihar and adri had provided technical support in developing the sopmodi said it was critical to invest adequately in children in bihar as half of states population is under the age of 18 years the child budget document is not independent of the state budget it is instead an analysis of state budget allocations that improve the wellbeing of children modi said highlighting three points related to child survival reducing infant mortality rate imr decreasing malnutrition and providing safe drinking water to childrenmodi said each child has the right to be protected from sexual abuse violence and neglect for their holistic developmentmodi said between 201314 and 201718 the state government allocated rs 8082785 crore towards child development and spent rs 6710102 crore during the same period the total allocation for children during this period has increased at an annual rate of 181 while the expenditure has grown at a rate of 261principal secretary of finance department s siddharth said along with assam and kerala bihar is one of the three indian states that publish child budget documentasadur rahman chief unicefbihar field office said the state governments step to strengthen its child budgeting processes is a testimony to its commitment to uphold child rightsartwork for the document was provided by a group of students of kilkaribihar bal bhawan and the bihar youth for child rights forumwelcoming the guests prabhat p ghosh director adri said child development had traditionally been viewed as a welfare activity with the perception that its economic returns are rather limited with this sop the state government has taken a highly welcome step to break the vicious circle of poverty and low human development he added