New Delhi: February's budget will be the third budget of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's dream team. But as the budget season comes closer, it seems that one member of the dream team can't agree with the other.
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday said that he was against the reduction of Government aid to the IITs.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram may be thinking of ways to tighten the Government's purse strings but his cost cutting plans are not finding favour with Ahluwalia.
Chidambaram in a letter has suggested to Ahluwalia that the Commission should weed out ineffective plans.
Chidambaram said that total allocations under these schemes amount to as much as Rs 2655 crores and any amount saved will be used in financing the flagship programmes.
Sources in the Planning Commission say that some of these schemes will be looked into but a complete evaluation is not possible before the budget.
They also said that there are other fundamental issues to be addressed like in the case of Prasar Bharati where if grants are reduced then it can borrow from the market.
The question for the Government is clearly that of resource mobilisation because this year's budget will begin with the Rural Health Mission.
However, more money needs to be spent on the Bharat Nirman and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan schemes and that will clearly have Chidambaram worried.
Comments
0 comment