Skip to main content

Disorganized approach to policy, budget formulation in Andhra Pradesh, at least in handloom sector

By Umesh Babu and Antara Mukherjee*
Total Expenditure Budget of Andhra Pradesh has increased from Rs 1,56,999.40 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 1,91,063.61 crore; increase of Rs 34,064.21 crore (21.69%). It gives a better image and impression. To rely on the quality of budget formulation for policies implementation, we have taken the sample of Handloom Weavers, covered under the department “Handloom and Textiles”.
Total budget of Handloom and Textiles Department in the year 2018-19 is Rs 273.42 crore; an increase of Rs 42.18 crore over the budget Rs 231.25 crore of previous year 2017-18.

Important Observation of Schemes / Programs:

1. Indian Institute of Handloom Technology:
  • Salaries: Allocation in salary head for the institute has been reduced. In the year 2017-18 budget estimate was Rs 79.46 lakhs and in the year 2018-19 it is Rs 63.59 lakh. A decrease by Rs 15.87 lakh. It indicates that the institute might be gradually shut down. 
  • A new scheme ‘Other Administrative Expenses’ has been launched for the year 2018- 19 with financial allocation of Rs 200 lakh. Total budget for the institute in the year 2017-18 was Rs 137.09 lakhs and in the years 2018-19 it is Rs 308.99 lakhs. If we separate the allocated fund for the new scheme and compare the figures of allocation for the year 2018-19, it comes out to be 108.99 lakhs. Which means in the existing programs of the state, there is a reduction of Rs 28.01 lakhs. 
2. Interest Subsidy/Rebate Scheme: Budget for this scheme has been reduced from Rs 6.00 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 4.00 crore in the year 2018-19. It is important to note that the expenditure in the year 2016-17 was 4.64 crore, higher than the allocation of the current year.
3. Small Scale Industries (SI) clusters under the Package Scheme – Handlooms Cluster Development Programs: This scheme has been discontinued by the way of not allocating budget in two subsequent years i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19. In the year 2016-17 expenditure under this scheme was Rs 25 crore.
4. Assistance for livelihood enhancement of weavers: Budget has been increased for this scheme under the head of “Other Grant-in- Aid” from Rs 23.42 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 200 crore in the year 2018-19, an increase by Rs 176.58 crore.
5. Assistance towards loan waiver to weavers: Allocation for this scheme is only Rs 1 lakh in both years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
6. Financial Assistance to Handloom and Textiles Promotion: Budget has been decreased from Rs 50 crore in year 2017-18 to Rs 25 crore in the year 2018-19. A decrease of Rs 25 crore.
7. Margin Money Assistance to APCO under NCDC Scheme: This scheme has been discontinued by way of not allocating budget in two subsequent years i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19. In the year 2016-17 total expenditure was Rs 5 crore.
8. State share for Revival Reform and Restructuring package for Handloom Sector: Allocation for this scheme is only Rs 1 lakh in both years 2017-18 and 2018-19.
9. Cooperative Handloom Weavers Thrift Fund Scheme: Budget for the scheme is reduced from Rs 3.5 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 2.5 crore in the year 2018-19.
10. Subsidy on Purchase of Raw Material: Budget is increased from Rs 8 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 11 crore in the year 2018-19.
11. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY): Budget is increased from Rs 6 crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs 15 crore in the year 2018-19. 12. Loan Assistance under NCDC Scheme: Budget is decreased from Rs 36.98 crore in the years 2017-18 to Rs 10.00 crore in the year 2018-19.

Remarks:

The overall scenario represents a disorganized approach in policy and budget formulation of the State, at least in handloom sector. The programs that have been working well have been abandoned by way of not allocating funds. Instead of correcting the lapses in existing programs formulation and implementation, new programs are launched to solve the problems. Practically, bureaucracy is not a complete mechanical instrument to adopt new program and in full swing and solve the existential problems of the weavers.
Politically, government can claim of increasing budget. Within these two propositions, chaos is created and public at large gets confused about who is wrong: politics, bureaucracy or the public. This state of confusion creates a situation for politicians to get away scot free and find several excuses for the persistent and consistent growth in poverty, suicides, debt trap, hunger death, etc. In one scheme there is an increase of Rs 176.58 crore and budget size becomes Rs 200 crore in the year 2018-19.
Total increase in departmental budget is Rs 42.18 crore. It means there are the several other smaller components where the budget is reduced and compromised with one scheme so that total budget of the department is in limit by a marginal increase of Rs 42.18 crore The schemes that have been reduced or brought to the point of closing down, will affect not only the weavers but also to State economy and bureaucratic infrastructure. Detailed enquiry of the budget and policies may give other sights or vision to get complete conclusion of the lapses in budget and policy formulation.
---
*Delhi Solidarity Group
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Church in India 'seems to have lost' moral compass of unequivocal support to the poor

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*
In 2017, Pope Francis dedicated a special day, to be observed by the Universal Church, every year, as the ‘World Day of the Poor’. This year it will be observed on November 17 on the theme ‘The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever’; in a message for the day Pope Francis says:
Post a Comment
more»

Hindutva founders 'borrowed' Nazi, fascist idea of one flag, one leader, one ideology

By Shamsul Islam*
With the unleashing of the reign of terror by the RSS/BJP rulers against working-class, peasant organizations, women organizations, student movements, intellectuals, writers, poets and progressive social/political activists, India also witnessed a series of resistance programmes organized by the pro-people cultural organizations in different parts of the country. My address in some of these programmes is reproduced here... 
***  Before sharing my views on the tasks of artists-writers-intellectuals in the times of fascism, let me briefly define fascism and how it is different from totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is political concept, a dictatorship of an individual, family or group which prohibits opposition in any form, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life. It is also described as authoritarianism.
Whereas fascism, while retaining all these repressive characteristics, also believes in god-ordained superiority of race, cultur…
Post a Comment
more»

As fear 'grips' right liberals, Arvind Panagariya, too, would be declared anti-national?

By Rajiv Shah
It is surely well-known by now that India's top people in the power-that-be have been castigating all those who disagree with them as "anti-nationals". Nothing unusual. If till yesterday only "secular liberals", and "left-liberals" were declared anti-national, facts, however, appear to have begun surfacing that, now, guns are being trained against those who could be qualified as right liberals, too. Let me be specific.
1 comment
more»

There may have been Buddhist stupa at Babri site during Gupta period: Archeologist

By Rajiv Shah
A top-notch archeologist, Prof Supriya Varma, who served as an observer during the excavation of the Babri Masjid site in early 2000s along with another archeologist, Jaya Menon, has controversially stated that not only was there "no temple under the Babri Masjid”, if one goes “beyond” the 12th century to 4th to 6th century, i.e. the Gupta period, “there seems to be a Buddhist stupa.”
Post a Comment
more»

'First time' since 1970s poverty up 10%, consumer spending down 4%: GoI survey

By Our Representative
In what may prove to be a major embarrassment for the Government of India (GoI), a new official survey, carried out in 207-18, has reportedly said that average consumer spending in India fell by more than 4% the previous six years "primarily driven by slackening rural demand." The survey, "Key Indicators: Household Consumer Expenditure in India”, carried out by the National Statistical Office (NSO), says that money spent per person in a month fell by 3.7% from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12 to Rs 1,446 in 2017-18.
Post a Comment
more»

National award winning film 'Hellaro' co-produced by three chartered accountants

By Our Representative
“Hellaro”, a Gujarati feature film produced by Saarthi Productions in association with Harfanmaula Films (Ahmedabad) was declared as the Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards which was conferred by the Government of India. The film also won the Special Jury Award for the Best Actress to all the 13 actresses of the film.
Ashish Patel produced the movie, which has been co-produced three co-producers, Aayush Patel, Prateek Gupta and Mit Jani, all of whom, interestingly, started their filmmaking journey after becoming Chartered Accountants in 2012.
“Hellaro” is directed by Abhishek Shah, who has been working in Gujarati theatre since the past 17 years as writer, director and actor and has received numerous awards for his plays. He has also worked as a casting director for 12 films.
“Hellaro” is a period drama based in Kutch and has been co-written by Abhishek Shah and Prateek Gupta. Gupta previously received the Best Debut Director Award, along with Mit Jan…
Post a Comment
more»

Rushdie, Pamuk, 260 writers tell Modi: Aatish episode casts chill on public discourse

Counterview Desk
As many as 260 writers, journalists, artists, academics and activists across the world, including Salman Rushdie, British Indian novelist, Orhan Pamuk, Turkish novelist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in literature, and Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and novelist, have called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the decision to strip British Indian writer Aatish Taseer of his overseas Indian citizenship.
Post a Comment
more»