Govt spent less than 30% of Plan budget in key sectors in first six months
1 min read . Updated: 29 Dec 2014, 12:06 AM IST
PremiumList of ministries who spent below 30% of their budget by end-September could show the centre's priorities, or the lack of them
A report that the Union government has slashed an already-low health budget has generated a lot of heat. But what are the other ministries that have seen lower spending? The chart lists ministries that, as at the end of September, had spent less than 30% of their expenditure budgets.
The list could be interpreted in two ways. One, it shows the priorities, or lack of them, of the government; or more charitably, the ministries that have spent the least will make up for it in the second half of the fiscal year.
Note that in spite of all the talk about Swachh Bharat, the ministry of drinking water and sanitation had spent just 29% of its plan budget in the first six months of the fiscal year. In spite of the promises about developing the north-eastern part of the country, the ministry for the development of the North-East had spent less than one-quarter of its Plan allocation during the first half.
Is spending 25% of its Plan allocation enough for the ministry of communications and information technology to achieve the vision of Digital India? Won’t spending a mere 24% of the Plan budget on small scale industries hurt the Make In India programme, or indeed affect job growth in manufacturing? The need to stay within the fiscal deficit target may be having a deleterious effect on the government’s programmes that were announced with much fanfare.
