 "Social, human development get a boost")
SOCIAL SECTOR
The Economic Survey 2015-16 talks about need for "Investing in Tomorrow's India Today", thereby implying a need to focus on social and human development in the country. Through his third budget, the Finance Minister (FM) has reflected a visible shift in the government's approach. The emphasis given to agriculture, social sector and rural development is evident from the sequencing of announcements in his speech and identifying them as distinct pillars in his transformative agenda.
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The increased resource allocations and specific policy narratives for most of the social sector schemes are also in congruence with the above shift. However, the need to balance expenditure and earnings seems to have led the government to scale down its ambitious policy initiatives especially in health, education and skills.
This Budget is expected to revitalise the rural economy, leading to an increase in rural consumption and thereby fuel growth in the economy. However, such an outcome would not be visible immediately and will also depend on the efficiency of implementation by the states. (SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION)
Water, sanitation and hygiene
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has seen a 124% increase as compared to 2015-16.The increase is largely in its two flagship schemes - National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA). Greater convergence in the interventions of MDWS and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) will be required to achieve health outcomes, with particular emphasis on behaviour change initiatives.
National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP): Allocation to NRDWP has increased by 92% this year but is still lower than the allocations in FY15. The thrust in the current Budget is on piped water supply schemes and prioritising supply to quality-affected habitations in rural areas.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) : SBA has got a sizeable 148% increase in allocation from last year. Additionally, SBA has received Rs 2,300 crore under the Ministry of Urban Development, making the total allocation Rs 11,300 crore. The policy announcements on conversion of city waste into compost and award for open-defecation-free villages are also welcome measures.
Gender : The gender budget allocation has increased by 13% over last year's allocations but is still below the FY15 allocation levels.
While the gender budget got a major fillip through increased allocations for the National Mission for Empowerment of Women, the marginal increase in funding of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme may be insufficient to cover the additional districts targeted. The Nirbhaya Fund has received an allocation of Rs 650 crores, but it will need to be effectively utilised for any meaningful impact.
Integrated Child Development Scheme and Nutrition : While it appears that the flagship nutrition scheme - Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) - has received a major boost with a 70% increase in funds allocated as compared to last year, the allocation is actually lower considering the revised expenditure of last year. The Budget is silent on any new initiatives to reduce malnutrition among women and children.
Public health care
India is 157th in terms of per capita government spending on health amongst 190 countries, and overall government expenditure on health continues to remain under 2% of GDP.
The focus on reducing Out of Pocket Expenditure on health through the new health protection scheme, with a cover of Rs 100,000 per family and an additional cover of Rs 30,000 for the elderly, is laudable. However, the insurance approach might not be an apt solution to address the neglect of primary health care systems. Measures to make medicines affordable through the Jan Aushadhi Yojana and reduction of expenditures through the National Dialysis Service Programme are also well-thought-out initiatives.
The Budget allocation for the National Health Mission has increased by a mere 4% over the previous year. The marginal increase in funding may affect the implementation of new and existing interventions in light of the need to achieve the goal of universal health care. Added focus on the Urban Health Mission and dovetailing expenditures for public health and WASH are imperative for facilitation of positive health outcomes.
There seems to be a realisation of rural distress by the government and it is getting reflected in the highest-ever allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). However, allocations for other schemes and the lack of any major policy level announcements indicate that not enough thought has been given to the livelihood sector. The initiatives announced in the agriculture sector are expected to give an indirect fillip to rural livelihoods.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) : The renewed focus on MGNREGS could have been triggered by the performance of the scheme in the last two years. The person-days of work generated, 185 days in FY16, is still lower than in FY14 and FY15. The number of households that completed 100 days of employment also has come down to 25 lakh in FY16 from 50 lakh in FY13.
The increased allocation and policy direction to use productive work for digging wells and creating organic compost units are welcome measures. The JAM may help in making programme implementation more effective as well. Increased focus should be accorded to infrastructure creation.
The total increase in allocation compared to two combined schemes shows an increase of only 10%. However, increased synergy and efficiencies may help cover every block under drought and address rural distress. Further, the provision of extension of bank loan under NRLM for women SHGs at 4% getting extended to an additional 100 districts is a welcome measure.
The Budget also brings back the focus on institutional strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through a new re-structured scheme, namely, Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal no 16, which aims to attain inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
Education
Increased focus on improving the quality of education has been one of the key thrust areas of this year's Budget.
The budget specifically focusses on facilitating digital literacy in rural India through the National Digital Literacy Mission that aims to cover 6 crore rural households in the next three years. A total of Rs 552 crore is allocated under Digital India-e learning, a new scheme introduced to focus on digital initiatives in schools.
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), focusing on secondary education, has got amarginal increase in allocation of 4% over last year.
Higher and Technical Education : There is a marginal increase of 4% for the Department of Higher Education in this year budget. However, a greater focus on higher education is evident from the policy announcement such as establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). The agency is expected to resolve issues associated with lack of funds that result in students opting out of higher education and further contribute in increasing the GER at higher education levels.
Under Rashtriya Uchcha Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the allocation has increased by 13% over last year, further indicating the concerted efforts of the government to increase coverage as well as enhance equity in Higher Education.
Vocational education, skill development and entrepreneurship
Skilling India has been a major focus for the current government and the establishment of a new ministry was one of the key achievements. The restructuring of the training wing from Ministry of Labour and Employment and integrating it with Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship has helped in convergence of initiatives. While policy initiatives for Skill India seem to be in the right direction, the resource allocations seem to be on the lower side.
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is restructured as the flagship skill development and entrepreneurship programme, albeit with lower allocations. The Multi Skill Institutes for higher order skilling, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for ease of access, and a network of training, mentors and credit facilities for aspiring entrepreneurs are welcome measures. Inclusivity is addressed through the 'Stand-up India Scheme' aimed at women and SC/ST entrepreneurs, and a placement-focused 'Nai Manzil' for minority youth. The setting up of the National Board for Skill Certification and investing in digital lockers for certificates are other laudable initiatives in the Budget.
(Note: After the announced merger on NRLM and NULM, the form and extent of skill component under the same is not clear and hence has not been included.)
