Niti Aayog department to soon start household survey on central schemes

The Development, Monitoring & Evaluation Office under Niti Aayog will soon start a comprehensive household survey to evaluate the impact and outreach of key central sector schemes (CS) and centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS) amounting to an annual allocation of over ₹11 lakh crore.

The exercise is expected to be completed before the next fiscal year following which DMEO will propose the necessary changes to the CS and CSS to prevent leakages and ensure that the scheme benefits go to the targeted individuals, a senior government official told ET.

"The idea is to evaluate the success of these schemes on the ground. This kind of survey will help prevent leakages and improve efficiency in the implementation of these schemes in future while ensuring benefits reach to the people who deserve the most," the official added.

The exercise is also aimed at giving flexibility to states in implementation of these schemes by reducing proliferation of such schemes.

Some of the big-ticket schemes to be evaluated include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Ayushman Bharat, National Social Assistance Programme and the food and fertiliser subsidy, among others.

The Budget 2022-23 had allocated ₹11.8 lakh crore, nearly the same as the revised estimate of ₹11.9 lakh crore but 12.5% lower than ₹13.5 lakh crore spent on social sector schemes in 2020-21, which was the first year of the pandemic.