TONNES OF MONEY

New Delhi: Having realised that its “aam aadmi’’ agenda is vote-catching, the UPA government is likely to give a huge fillip to social sector spending with special focus on education, health and rural development in its budget. Top government sources hinted that gross budgetary support (GBS) will be around Rs 3.35 lakh crore—Rs 50,000 crore more than the GBS (Rs 2.85 lakh crore) fixed in the interim budget.
However, this would mean higher fiscal deficit as compared to 5.5% reflected in the interim budget with a GBS of Rs 2.85 lakh crore. In consonance with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s directive to adhere to the UPA’s agenda as outlined in the President’s address, the government is likely to enhance spending on education. The finance ministry and Planning Commission is working on a figure of Rs 15,500 crore more for education sector in addition to Rs 34,400 crore allocated in the interim budget.
Also, a special allocation of Rs 8,500 crore is in the offing for setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and 16 new central universities in the coming budget.
With the President highlighting the need to focus on women’s literacy and quality education, the government is likely to allocate another Rs 7,000 crore to set up model schools in educationally backward blocks of the country and improve quality of education under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
The government’s renewed focus is going to be on rural development, specially on NREGA whose vote-garnering potential was realised in general elections by the UPA establishment. The rural development ministry’s allocation is expected to be increased by Rs 4,000 crore, which will take the total budget of the ministry to Rs 70,000 crore, highest for any social sector ministry.
With special focus on reducing infant mortality, MMR, and upgrading PHCs, the health ministry’s allocation is expected to increase by around 25%. The government wants the health ministry to focus on strengthening crumbling rural health infrastructure under National Rural Health Mission. In the interim budget, the ministry had got Rs 16,534 crore and now the ministry is likely to get an additional Rs 4,000 crore.
In an effort to meet ambitious agenda outlined by the President to make India slumfree and to upgrade urban infrastructure, the government is set to increase the budget of JNNURM being handled by housing ministry and urban development ministry. In the interim budget, the allocation was Rs 4,724 crore. Now an additional amount of Rs 3,500 crore is likely to be earmarked for the urban renewal mission.
Commonwealth Games-2010, to be held in Delhi, is high on the UPA’s agenda as the government is set to hike the allocation by three times. The total allocation for the Games would be around Rs 2,000 crore.
With rural electrification not up to the mark under Bharat Nirman, the power ministry is expected to get additional allocation of Rs 8,000 crore which means the total budget of the ministry would be over Rs 60,000 crore.