The level of Plan support for the next fiscal is likely to be enhanced by around Rs 4,000 crore over and above the Rs 1,17,500-crore announced by the finance ministry earlier.
This means that the Budget allocations to certain central ministries are likely to be enhanced over and above what the Planning Commission has allocated to them under the annual Plan for 2003-04.
Among the beneficiaries of the enhanced support will be Infrastructure Finance Development Company, the National Rail Vikas Nigam, the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Jal Samvaaran Yojana and the rural drinking water supply programme.
Other than these, allocations to the science and technology, biotechnology and atomic energy sectors and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan are likely to be enhanced.
The government is also expected to announce the launch of a health insurance scheme for the unorganised sector, an insurance scheme for farm workers and a pension scheme for the unorganised sector.
While the operationalisation of the schemes is still in the future, an announcement on their launch, under the control of the labour ministry, is likely in the Budget.
The level of the gross budgetary support for next year is likely to be about Rs 1,21,500 crore, and the hike of Rs 4,000 crore over the earlier announced figure will be on the basis of one-on-one discussions between the finance ministry and the other ministries.
The usual route to deciding on Plan allocations is to let the Plan body prepare an indicative list of allocations, which is then fine-tuned by the finance ministry and then finalised in consultation with the Plan body. However, this time, the Planning Commission is being kept out of the loop.
Also, while the two bodies usually meet to decide on the size of the gross budgetary support, this time, both have had separate meetings with the Prime Minister to forward their points of view, but not with each other.
While the formalities of consultation have been maintained and the plan body has been informed about each decision, the usual bonhomie and informal consultations between the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission have been absent this time.
The Planning Commission was not even directly involved in the finalisation of the IEBR for the Railways this year.
