Understanding the maze of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

In a freewheeling conversation with Jay Chaudhuri, IFMR, it was interesting to know about the various dimensions of “Centrally Sponsored Schemes” upon which he is currently researching on.

Being a federalist nation, India has clearly defined areas which come under the prism of either central or state subject. Few areas like Education, Healthcare, and Infrastructure which are state subjects have seen a lot of infusion from the central government through its centrally sponsored schemes.

Jay emphasized that typically a centrally sponsored scheme would be for a cause which is universal in its nature and is aimed generally at overall development irrespective of any bias, unless specifically aimed at a particular stratum of society.

Some of the schemes which are centrally sponsored are:

• NREGA – Providing legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year for rural households.
• PMGSY – Providing road connectivity to rural areas
• SSA – Aimed at universalizing elementary education
• NRHM – Aimed at availability and access to quality health care in rural areas

While the schemes have a very novel intent; what really is a cause for concern is the implementation and accountability, lamented Jay. Increased accountability of states and an effective tracking mechanism would go a long way in making the schemes more effective and efficient.

IFMR Trust’s work on centrally sponsored schemes revolves around providing a simplified brief on such schemes for public knowledge, evaluation of PMGSY, and publishing whitepapers on such areas from time to time.

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Jay Chaudhuri is a researcher with IFMR, his current research focuses on centrally sponsored schemes in India. Jay has a double major in Finance and Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University. He did his graduate studies in International Development from Cornell University. His research interests include Poverty, Inequality and Public Economics.