Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Last updated

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are schemes that are implemented by state governments of India but are largely funded by the central government with a defined state government share. Examples of such schemes include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. [1]

Contents

History

Even before the advent of Five-Year plans of India, the practice of providing Central Assistance to the States to finance development schemes had been in vogue. After World War II, the Central Government along with Provincial Governments embarked on developmental projects which received Central Assistance in the form of grants that were called post-war development grants. [2]

Some of these grants were stopped by 1950–51 but grants for schemes like Grow More Food continued. Since the exact distribution of financial liability had not been decided by the time of the First Five Year Plan, many schemes which should have appropriately found place in the State sector were included in the Central sector. [2]

Some such schemes/projects taken up in the first Plan were multipurpose river valley schemes like:

In addition to these, community development projects and projects for special minor irrigation, local works etc. were also included. At that point in time, there was no clear criterion for distribution of Central Assistance to the States. [2]

At the beginning of the Second Five Year Plan, a majority of the schemes that were funded centrally and implemented by the States outside of the State Plan were transferred to the State and included in the State Plans. The second plan required large transfer of resources from Centre to States as the resources of all the States taken together were estimated to be short of the requirement by as much as 60%. The case of the Third Five Year Plan was similar. [2]

Thus, Central Assistance in the first three Plans to the States was determined on the basis of needs, problems, past progress, lags in development, contribution to achievement of major national target, potential for growth and contribution in resources by States towards their development programmes, population, area, level of income etc. The quantum of Central Assistance was decided in the light of gap in resources of each individual State. [2]

Proliferation in number

In 1968, the National Development Council Committee recommended a cap on the value of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes as 1/6th of the Central Plan assistance to States. However, the Central Ministries continued to introduce new schemes and the financial limit came to be exceeded. The number of CSS increased from 45 in 1969 to 190 at the end of the Fifth Five Year Plan. Considering the criticism voiced by the States on the proliferation in the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, at the time of the Sixth Five Year Plan, 72 Centrally Sponsored Schemes were transferred to the states as part of State Plan schemes. The resultant central savings of about Rs.2,000 crore were given to the States as additional block assistance on a formula known as Income Adjusted Total Population Formula. [2]

The proliferation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes continued since that time and at the time of the Seventh Five Year Plan, the issue was raised again by the State Governments. To resolve various issues concerning CSS, NDC constituted an Expert Group under the Chairmanship of K. Ramamurty. However, when the groups report was reviewed in 1985, it was felt that the criteria to continue with existing CSS/start new CSS as suggested by the Expert Group were too broad and that fulfilment of an important national objective as one of the criteria was essential. [2]

Accordingly, a new committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Narasimha Rao, Minister of Human Resource Development. The committee in its first meeting approved the following criteria for the formation of a new CSS:

For retention of existing schemes, it suggested that schemes of national importance viz. anti-poverty programmes, rural water supply, family welfare and programmes intended to promote human resource development and sustain improvement in quality of life like education which were of national importance may be retained as CSS. Schemes other than those having high national importance could be considered for transfer to the State Plans. [2]

Transfer to State Plans

The Narsimha Rao Committee set up a group headed by J.S. Baijal, the then Secretary, Planning Commission to work out the details, in the light of the guidelines it recommended in its first meeting, regarding retention of CSS, mode of transfer of schemes to State Plans, allocation of outlays for the scheme proposed to be transferred. [2]

The group decided to omit Northeastern council (NEC), Tribal Area Plan, Border Area Development and Hill Area Development Programme etc. from the scope of CSS. The total CSS after merging, weeding and dropping came to 236. [2]

The recommendations of the Narsimha Rao Committee were submitted in 1988 and recommended a transfer of 113 CSS to States with a combined Seventh Five Year Plan outlay of Rs.1,260.75. [2]

The issue of transfer of CSS to the States along with resources again came up for discussion in the 47th NDC meeting held in January, 1997. While discussing the Draft Approach to the Ninth Five Year Plan, several Chief Ministers (Punjab, Delhi, Tripura, UP, Haryana) desired that CSS along with funds may be transferred to the States particularly relating to those sectors which come within the purview of the State List. [2]

Divergence of opinion

By the last year of the Ninth Five Year Plan, the total number of schemes had increased to 360, accounting for about 60% of Central assistance. NDC observed that the better off States were benefiting more through the CSS as they had better resource matching and implementation capabilities compared to poor States. [2]

Thus, the Planning Commission undertook a zero based budgeting (ZBB) exercise in the beginning of the Tenth Five Year Plan and recommended weeding out of 48 schemes, merger of 161 schemes into 53 schemes, and retaining the remaining 135 schemes, implying a carrying forward of 188 CSS to the Tenth Plan. [2]

At the time of the 48th meeting of the NDC in 1999, there still remained a divergence of opinion on the issue of transfer of CSS. This divergence was not only among the States but also between the States on the one hand and the Central Ministries/Departments on the other. [2]

The divergence of opinion was not just related to the selection of schemes but also on how they should be financially executed. Some examples of these opinions were:

Thus, on the recommendation of the 51st NDC meeting the Planning Commission set up an Expert Group in October 2005 under the Chairmanship of Arvind Varma, ex-Secretary, Government of India to develop concrete proposals for restructuring the CSS in consultation with the Ministries/ Departments concerned. [2]

Delivery of goods

Under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes Central Government of India prepare the guidelines and sanction the fund for the welfare state scheme like Indira Awaas Yojana etc. without taking responsibility to deliver the goods to the BPL Indians without corruption. If any Indian lodge a grievance to the concerned Ministry or department of Govt. of India through Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), the related Ministry or department by saying "the subject do not fall under the purview of this Ministry", closed the case by forwarding it to the concerned state govt. According to a Press Trust of India news on November 26, 2014, on an average, around 42,000 grievances are received every month on Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and in the Prime Minister's Office. [3]

Varma Committee Report

The Varma Committee, set up on the recommendation of the 51st NDC meeting, submitted their report in September, 2006. The report recommended the following points:

The report was considered by the Planning Commission while preparing the Eleventh Five Year Plan. [2]

Current scenario

The proliferation of CSS, top down approach, provision of flexibility to States to mould schemes according to local requirements, flow of funds, accountability, enforceability, implementation, involvement of PRIs etc. are still relevant topics today and to address some of these concerns, the Planning Commission had constituted a sub-committee under the Chairmanship of B.K. Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission, to look into the restructuring of CSS to enhance its flexibility, scale and efficiency, vide Order No. M-12043/4/2011-PC dated 5 April 2011 [2]

The Planning Commission on June 20, 2013 announced that it would reduce the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes by merging them, thereby resulting in a total of 66 Centrally Sponsored Schemes [4]

After the report of a committee of CM's led by Shivrajsingh Chauhan, Central govt has reduced no. of Centrally Sponsored Schemes from 66 to 28. 10 schemes will be funded fully by central govt while 17 will be funded in ratio of 60:40 between center and state govt. [5]

Related Research Articles

From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of planning. This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed, and monitored by the Planning Commission (1951–2014) and the NITI Aayog (2015–2017). With the prime minister as the ex-officio chairman, the commission has a nominated deputy chairman, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister. Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the last deputy chairman of the commission. The Twelfth Plan completed its term in March 2017. Prior to the Fourth Plan, the allocation of state resources was based on schematic patterns rather than a transparent and objective mechanism, which led to the adoption for the Gadgil formula in 1969. Revised versions of the formula have been used since then to determine the allocation of central assistance for state plans. The new government led by Narendra Modi, elected in 2014, announced the dissolution of the Planning Commission, and its replacement by a think tank called the NITI Aayog.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 or MGNREGA, earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA, is an Indian social welfare measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. This act was passed on 23 August 2005 and was implemented in February 2006 under the UPA government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following tabling of the bill in parliament by the Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suresh Prabhu</span> Indian politician

Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu is an Indian politician and Chancellor of Rishihood University who was the Minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce & Industry in the First Modi ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana</span> Highway initiative in India

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages. Of 178,000 habitations with a population of above 500 in the plains and above 250 in the hilly areas planned to be connected by all-weather roads, 82% were already connected by December 2017 and work-in-progress on the remaining 47,000 habitations was on-track for completion by March 2019.

Social security in India includes a variety of statutory insurances and social grant schemes bundled into a formerly complex and fragmented system run by the Indian government at the federal and the state level. The Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in Part IV of the Indian Constitution reflects that India is a welfare state. Food security to all Indians are guaranteed under the National Food Security Act, 2013 where the government provides highly subsidised food grains or a food security allowance to economically vulnerable people. The system has since been universalised with the passing of The Code on Social Security, 2020. These cover most of the Indian population with social protection in various situations in their lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five-Year Plans of Pakistan</span>

The Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of Pakistan, were the series of nationwide centralised economic plans and targets as part of the economic development initiatives, in the Pakistan. The plan was conceived by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and were studied and developed by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) based on the theory of Cost-of-production value, and also covered the areas of Trickle-down system. Supervision and fulfillment of this programme became the watchword of Pakistan's civil bureaucracy since early 1950s.

A district planning committee (DPC) is the committee created as per article 243ZD of the Constitution of India at the district level for planning at the district and below. The committee in each district should consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the municipalities in the district and prepare a draft development plan for the district.

District is the most suitable administrative unit for decentralized planning below the state level as it possesses the required heterogeneity and is small enough to undertake people in planning and implementation and to improve productivity; district planning is an important tool.

Central Secretariat Service is the administrative civil service under Group A and Group B of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. They are governed by Central Secretariat Service Rules of 1962, which has been issued under the powers of Article 309 of the Constitution of India. The service members work under restrictions and rules of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules.

The Gadgil formula is named after Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, a social scientist and the first critic of Indian planning. It was evolved in 1969 for determining the allocation of central assistance for state plans in India. Gadgil formula was adopted for distribution of plan assistance during Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans.

The Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS) is a Government of India public financial management reforms initiative which monitors programs in the social sector and tracks funds disbursed. Given the large number programs on which the money is spent, the CPSMS is an initiative by the Indian Central Government to ensure that the money is spent according to its intended purpose, and provide an accounting of same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Development Council (India)</span> Indian government agency

The National Development Council (NDC) or Rashtriya Vikas Parishad is the apex body for decision creating and deliberations on development matters in India, presided over by the Prime Minister. It was set up on 6 August 1952 to strengthen and mobilize the effort and resources of the nation in support of the Five Year Plans made by Planning Commission, to promote common economic policies in all vital spheres, and to ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country. The Council comprises the Prime Minister, the Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of all States or their substitutes, representatives of the Union Territories and the members of the NITI Aayog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Social Assistance Scheme</span> Indian government centrally sponsored scheme

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Government of India that provides financial assistance to the elderly, widows and persons with disabilities in the form of social pensions. The NSAP scheme only includes Below Poverty Line individuals as beneficiaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remunerative Approach for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation</span>

Remunerative Approach for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation, previously Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is a State Plan Scheme of Additional Central Assistance, was launched in August 2007 as a part of the 11th Five Year Plan by the Government of India. Launched under the aegis of the National Development Council, it seeks to achieve 4% annual growth in agriculture through development of Agriculture and its allied sectors during the period under the 11th Five Year Plan (2007–11).

Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT is an attempt to change the mechanism of transferring subsidies launched by Government of India on 1 January 2013. This scheme or program aims to establish a Giro system to transfer subsidies directly to the people through their linked bank accounts. It is hoped that crediting subsidies into bank accounts will reduce leakages, duplicity and delay and the new processes will increase transparency and accountability.

Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a holistic scheme of development for higher education in India initiated in 2013 by the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The centrally sponsored scheme aims at providing strategic funding to higher educational institutions throughout the country. Funding is provided by the central ministry through the state governments and union territories (UT), which in coordination with the central Project Appraisal Board will monitor the academic, administrative and financial advancements taken under the scheme. A total of 316 state public universities and 13,024 colleges will be covered under it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana</span> Housing initiative in India

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a credit-linked subsidy scheme by the Government of India to facilitate access to affordable housing for the low and moderate-income residents of the country. It envisaged a target of building 2 crore (20 million) affordable houses by 31 March 2022. It has two components: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G and also PMAY-R) for the rural poor, the former administered by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the latter by Ministry of Rural Development. This scheme converges with other schemes to ensure houses have a toilet, Saubhagya Scheme for universal electricity connection, Ujjwala Yojana LPG connection, access to drinking water and Jan Dhan banking facilities, etc.

The Thirteenth Finance Commission of India was constituted by the President of India under the chairmanship of Vijay L. Kelkar on 13 November 2007.

National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) is a Government of India's programme launched in 2008 to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impact of climate change. The action plan is designed and published under the guidance of Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC). The 8 sub-missions aimed at fulfilling India's developmental objectives with focus on reducing emission intensity of its economy. The plan will rely on the support from the developed countries with the prime focus of keeping its carbon emissions below the developed economies at any point of time. The 8 missions under NAPCC are as follows:

References

  1. ↑ "Faster, Sustainable, and More Inclusive Growth. An approach to the 12th Five Year Plan" (PDF). Planning Commission of India . Planning Commission (India), Government of India . Retrieved 15 Dec 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Report of the committee on restructuring of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Chapter A II". Planning Commission of India . Planning Commission (India), Government of India . Retrieved 15 Dec 2013.
  3. ↑ "About 1.92 lakh public grievances pending: Govt". November 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Govt Approves Merger Of Centrally Sponsored Schemes To 66". tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 Dec 2013.
  5. ↑ Prasanta Sahu (November 9, 2015). "Centrally-sponsored schemes to be reduced to 27 from 72". Financial Express.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.