Recently, Rural Development Minister, CP Joshi announced that only members of parliament would be entitled to inaugurate roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The rural roads scheme is part of a slew of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) which include the MGNREGA, ICDS, PMGSY, NRHM, SSA etc. What are Centrally Sponsored Schemes? Essentially these schemes are special purpose grants extended by the Central Government to States to encourage and motivate State governments to plan and implement programmes that help attain national goals and objectives, for instance, extending clean drinking water and sanitation to every habitation, eradicating polio and tuberculosis, making primary education universal for every female and male child, and so on. CSSs are formulated by concerned Ministries and Departments and implemented through counterpart State level departments and para-statal bodies identified for the purpose.

However in recent years serious questions have been raised about the effectiveness of these schemes. A recent op-ed in the Indian Express titled “Scheming too much” notes how the government is more concerned about taking credit for and branding these schemes (you must have heard the ads on the radio and in the papers!) and less concerned about whether these schemes translate into improved outcomes on the ground. The big question really is whether centrally sponsored schemes are really the best vehicles for delivering basic social services. To try and examine some of these questions in 2009, the Accountability Initiative and CDF-IFMR wrote an analytical piece entitled from “From Outlays to Outcomes: Getting Development from Development Expenditures” which was published in the India Review. 

Are Centrally Sponsored Schemes defunct or are there ways in which the schemes can be designed better so that development expenditure actually leads to improved outcomes on the ground. Write in with your views!