Lack of funds? Govt's major developmental, welfare programs lag behind actual needs

By Bharat Dogra

India has many significant development and welfare programs some of which have won international appreciation for what they aspire to achieve. However the achievement of most of these programs has been much below their potential. There are two reasons for this. One of these relates to poor implementation and utilization of fund due to inefficiency and corruption.

Of course the situation is not uniformly bad in this context and there are also examples of very good implementation in several districts. However on the whole a lot remains to be done to ensure better utilization and to ensure honesty and transparency in these programs.

However there is another big issue which affects implementation all over the country, namely that in the case of most of these programs the allocated funds are much below the actual need of these programs. In fact in the context of several important programs the difference between what is required for proper implementation and what is actually allocated has been growing in recent years. This makes it very difficult to implement these programs as per the original intentions and in the right spirit.

Leaving aside the higher allocations made for some time under a special COVID package, the allocations for some important programs show a stagnating trend in recent years and after removing the inflationary impact even a decline in real terms is seen in the context of some programs and schemes.

The program of rural employment guarantee has attracted international attention for providing legal framework (NREGA) for employment in works which benefit rural communities by promoting sustainable development (for example by taking up water conservation and minor irrigation). However the legal guarantee for employment can work only if the local administration has enough funds to support his.

When allocations were inadequate even a few years back and when there is a decline in real terms, employment cannot be generated when there is need and demand, and wages for work provided cannot be paid in time, and in the process the objectives of the law-based scheme cannot be realized.

India has some of the world’s largest nutrition programs for mothers, pre-school children and school students, but inadequate and stagnant (or declining in real terms) allocations have led to less than expected results, although still these programs play a useful role.

India has perhaps the world’s largest program of free food grain supply (about 5 kg per person per month) which is supposed to reach about 800 million people. However there have been several complaints of many eligible persons not receiving this ration.

The National Social Assistance Program is aimed at making available pensions to elderly people, widows and disability affected persons. This is perhaps the most extreme example of a high priority welfare and social security program being deprived badly of much-needed resources as the already inadequate allocations available some years back have declined in real terms. The result is that per person allocation is very low and the scheme is far from reaching all eligible members.

The situation is dismal in crucial sectors like education and health despite the fact that the need for increasing allocations significantly has been emphasized several times. The allocation for education seen as a percentage of the total union budget has declined over the past decade. In the case of health and family welfare the allocation is substantially below the expected norm for such an important sector.

This has led to unmet needs as well as increasing privatization at various levels in these two sectors although the need in India is for the government to accept a very important share of the responsibilities for health and education.

Thus while important responsibilities have not been getting adequate attention, the expenditure on some populist schemes announced at the time of various elections has been increasing, and while some of these ad-hoc schemes also provide some relief to poorer people, these cannot be as effective as well-established schemes, sometimes supported by laws, which can meet important needs of people in more durable ways.

It is therefore very important for the government to raise adequate resources to meet high priority needs of people by ensuring adequate resources for those programs and schemes which are dedicated to meeting such needs.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include When the Two Streams Met, Planet in Peril, and A Day in 2071

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Search This Blog