Finance Ministry urges upgradation of social sector schemes, hints at revamp

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said there was need to upgrade the various social sector schemes and their delivery mechanism, indicating that the new government could be thinking of a recast of the welfare schemes. He was speaking to the social sector groups that had come for pre-budget consultations.

Finance minister said, "We may have been implementing the various social sector programmes but there is need to upgrade them and their delivery mechanisms and also provide adequate interventions within the fiscal space available" the ministry said in a statement. "He said that there is need to ensure that the benefits of these programmes reach the poor and marginalized and other weaker sections of the society, " the statement said.

Jaitley also said that social sector groups can play an important role in taking positive advantage of demographic dividend. The social sector representatives suggested higher budgetary allocation for thecdisabled simplification of procedures for seeking grants and their timely release, help in making NGOs self-sustainable and financially viable by giving certain tax concessions and allowing creation of corpus fund among others.

Higher allocation to promote use of renewable energy, focus on making a roadmap for replacing kerosene and diesel by renewable energy wherever possible and creation of National Green Energy Fund were other suggestions.

Implementation of the National Competition Policy, enactment and implementation of the Public Procurement Act and the National Procurement Policy, enactment and implementation of an omnibus Financial Consumer Protection Act and fixing of Fiscal Management Practices by establishment of Parliamentary Budget Office, adoption of international best practices in budgetary planning and reduction of non-merit subsidies was also raised.

Stakeholders also suggested focus on financial inclusion by setting-up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by Public Sector Banks, universalize the pension for all the poor, extension of Rashtriya Swasthaya Beema Yojana(RSBY) to all the districts in the country, setting-up of old age home in each district of the country for destitute and vulnerable old age people, inculcation of value education in our system, setting-up of National Nutrition Mission and creation of a Dalit Fund to encourage any innovative activity undertaken by a SC/ST person, the statement said. Meeting was attended by representatives of Pradan, Asha, Dhan, Grameenkoota, Helpage, Pratham, Sadhan, Cuts and Greenpeace.