Jaitley May Give Social Sector Ministries a Reason to Cheer

Implementing Modi’s e-governance initiatives, social sector ministries are likely to see an increase in the outlay.

Implementing Modi’s e-governance initiatives, panchayati raj and social justice and empowerment ministries are likely to see an increase in their outlays this fiscal. (Photo: AP)

The 2016-17 Union Budget may give a boost to the struggling social sector ministries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects and e-governance initiatives, panchayati raj and social justice and empowerment ministries are likely to see an increase in their outlays this fiscal, reports The Economic Times.

The panchayati raj ministry, rendered irrelevant when finance minister Arun Jaitley brought its budget down from Rs 7,000 crore to a meagre Rs 94 crore in the previoys Budget, may see an over two-fold jump in its budget for the next fiscal.

After much lobbying, the ministry’s Budget now stands at Rs 220 crore (Rs 170 crore), at the end of the current fiscal.

Sources to The Economic Times said that the government was likely to put aside as much as Rs 750 crore as Plan funds for the panchayats raj ministry. The funds will go toward e-governance initiatives, training modules and research studies.

Under the Accessible India campaign, the department for the empowerment of persons with disabilities (of the social justice and empowerment ministry) is also likely to receive an increasing in funding. Although the ministry was allocated Rs 6,524 crore in the previous Budget, the department was allocated only Rs 636.94 crore.

The proposed budget hike in this fiscal for social sector ministries is significant as these sectors have seen massive cuts in the last few years. The urban development ministry is expecting a minimal increase in overall budget, and cuts for Swachh Bharat and Smart City programmes.

The ministry is seeking Rs 33,000 crore, almost double of what it had received in 2015-16. Sources indicate that the finance ministry is unlikely to play ball and will only consider the demand at revised estimates stage mid-year. 

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