GoM nod to merge Central schemes
In line with the Budget announcement by the Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, the group of ministers (GoM) headed by Sharad Pawar on Thursday agreed to merge the existing 147 Centrally-sponsored schemes into 70 programmes administered by various ministries of the Central government. Mr Chidambaram in his Budget speech this year had stated the government’s intention to cap the Centrally sponsored schemes to 70 for better administration and monitoring.
The GoM is learnt to have agreed to merge the Centrally-sponsored schemes into 70 manageable schemes in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17), said a senior official.
In another decision, the GoM is learnt to have given its approval for earmarking 10 per cent of the funds to be called flexi-funds from the Budget allocation for such programmes under which state governments can use it within the broader framework of the flagship programme. Also, the GoM gave its approval to a proposal, which was mooted by Mr Chidambaram, to transfer of funds from the Central government to the state consolidated funds and not directly to the implementing agencies, as had been the case in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Indira Awas Yojna. Additionally, the GoM has approved a proposal for setting up of state specific
guidelines in each central sponsored schemes. The GoM meeting on Thursday was attended by Mr Pawar, Mr Chidambaram, commerce minister Anand Sharma, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The Planning Commission member B. Chaturvedi had earlier recommended capping the Centrally-sponsored schemes to 59. Following the approval of the GoM, the decisions would be taken before the Union Cabinet after which they would be implemented, added the official.
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