NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JAN 19
Progress across major development schemes in India, including education, health, and nutrition among others, remains constrained due to sub-optimal utilisation of available funds, especially at the district level, according to a recent study by Tata Trust.
The study by Tata Trust and Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) stressed that India needs to improve utilisation of budgetary resources, across all levels of governance, given the limited fiscal space available to the government.
“Progress across major development schemes in India, including education, health, and nutrition, water and sanitation, agriculture and rural development, livelihood, among others, remains constrained due to sub-optimal utilisation of available funds, especially at the district level,” Tata Trust said in a statement.
According to the statement, pressing challenges related to staff shortages, their capacity, transparency and
accountability in public financial management, monitoring have not received adequate attention. “These need to be addressed urgently. There are also concerns for the quality in fund utilisation across schemes,” it said.
The 2-year study focused on ten social sector schemes including Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan (SSA), Mid-Day Meal (MDM), National Health Mission (NHM), Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
Other schemes included National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) in five districts across of Balasore and Bolangir in Odisha, Chandrapur in Maharashtra, East Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh.
Commenting on the Report, Abhijit Sen, Former Member 14th Finance Commission & Planning Commission has said, “This exercise (Fiscal Governance Reforms at District Level for Improving Fund Flow and Utilisation in Development Schemes) emphasises the need for good quality sub-district data which is key to improve decision making at the district level. Additionally, it is pertinent for the Centre to empower districts to ensure better development outcomes.”
Speaking at the launch Dr. Poornima Dore, Head of Data-Driven Governance at the Tata Trusts said: “The national and state budgets have hitherto received a fair share of importance. We seek to go a step further at the district level to augment understanding around fund-flow mechanisms and factors that can enhance the district’s ability to utilise its full potential as local-level planning and implementation authority. In partnership with the District Collectorate of select districts, we have attempted to map the state of data, fund-flows and blueprint of the complex fiscal structures at the district level, while identifying best practices and select policy measures which can unlock locally relevant resources promptly.”
Subrat Das, Executive Director, CBGA said “Given the limited public resources available to government and competing demands from a large number of sectors, India cannot afford constrained utilisation of the available budgets in any sector. Hence, it is pertinent to identify the factors constraining fund utilisation in important schemes and address those through coordinated policy measures by the Centre and States.”
