Story Details

SCs/STs may get more of govt spend
Created on 21-01-2010 6:37 pm



In what could be seen as an attempt to regain its lost political constituency, the top UPA leadership is keen to ensure that SCs/STs get a proportional share of the money spent by central ministries. With the start of the budget process, Planning Commission is considering a proposal mooted by social justice ministry to mandate all central ministries to allocate atleast 15% of the total gross budgetary support (GBS) for the next fiscal year to disadvantaged groups. The focus is back on the traditional Congress constituency which had drifted away from the party to regional outfits in the 1990s with UPA�s top leadership keen to ensure that enough funds are available for schemes aimed at disadvantaged groups. With the directive coming from the highest levels, the plan is to undertake �adequate quantification of funds� spent on the SC/ST population. Since SCs/STs form 25% of the population, the government�s move is to eventually ensure that 25% of plan allocation is spent on them.