2022 Archives - Page 6 of 11 - Accountability Initiative: Responsive Governance

India’s Public Investment in Education: Deciphering the Inconsistencies in Official Statistics

The previous blog in this series explored the rationale behind India’s target of spending 6 per cent of its GDP as public investment in education, and how the fulfilment of the target remains a distant reality. More importantly, in terms of India’s current status of education investment, there is some discrepancy in official statistics across different sources. Why do government data sources provide different estimates for India’s public investment in education as a share of GDP, which has been included in the National Education Policy 2020? The answer lies in the definition of education, and therefore the methodology used to calculate the indicator.

It is especially important for researchers and practitioners to understand why different data sources report different values for the same indicator, as it leads to a significant difference in the absolute amount of current investment, which will have a bearing on the assessment of future investment needed for education. Equally important, it will help in looking at comparable numbers while trying to understand how India has progressed in achieving the target.

Understanding the issue

The draft report of the National Education Policy (NEP) released in 2019 quoted the figure for the indicator “public expenditure on education as a share of GDP” at 2.7 per cent for FY 2017-18 Budget Estimates (BEs) [1], which exactly matched with the figure reported in the Economic Survey, 2017-18, released by the Government of India (GoI). The NEP would go on to serve as India’s milestone document on school education, including recommendations on further investments to be made, and thus it is important to consider the benchmark for education spending that it chooses.

The final report of the NEP released in 2020, however, used a different figure for the same indicator. This was 4.43 per cent for FY 2017-18 BEs. The report clearly mentions that this inflated figure was from a source different than the Economic Survey, i.e. “Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure 2017-18” [2]. Thus, two different figures were used between the draft and final report of the NEP, and both were from credible government sources.

Also, within the NEP 2020 document, the same numerator (public expenditure on education) that is used to calculate the indicator (education investment as a share of GDP), when expressed as a proportion of total government expenditure, was exactly matching with Economic Survey, 2017-18, which was 10 per cent for FY 2017-18 BEs. Therefore, it is evident that two different values were used for the same numerator (public investment in education) in NEP 2020: One, when expressed as a share of GDP; and second, when expressed as a share of total government expenditure.

It is important to look at what constitutes spending on education under the two sources that the draft NEP and final report have used.

Differences in how education is defined

There are differences in the kind of expenditures covered under ‘Education’ across the two sources in NEP 2019 and NEP 2020. In both cases, public expenditure in education is inclusive of expenditure incurred by both Union as well as state governments. Also, apart from the Ministry of Education (MoE) or the state-level education departments, some proportion of expenditure on education is incurred by other ministries and departments as well. These have also been included to get the complete picture of public expenditure on education across both sources.

Source 1: Economic Survey [3]

In government budget documents, expenditures are broadly grouped into major heads of account, depending on the sector and type of functions or services. Each major head is further divided into sub-major heads. In order to calculate total education spending, the Economic Survey takes into account revenue expenditures under the following major heads of budget: General Education (major head: 2202), Technical Education (2203), Sport and Youth Services (2204), and Art and Culture (2205).

Additionally, it includes capital expenditure under the head called Education, Sports, Art, and Culture (4202). It also considers expenditure under the category called ‘Loans and Advances’ (major head: 6202). Table 1 summarises the broad budget categories that are considered to collate public investment on education, as followed by the Economic Survey.

Table 1: Specific major heads considered for revenue and capital expenditure on education

Source 2: Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education

The education finances collated by this document include the above-mentioned education-related major heads along with a few additional components. These components cover a relatively smaller share of spending for disadvantaged communities such as Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and minorities, which is spent towards enabling access to education. These are reported under budget heads Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes for Revenue Account (Major head: 2225) and Capital Account (Major head: 4225) and within these, under the minor head Education (Minor head: 277).

It further includes expenditures incurred on training and research and development activities, across multiple government departments, spending on which is not confined to any of the specific budget heads mentioned above, and is therefore difficult to identify from the budget documents.

Overall, this document covers the Elementary, Secondary, University & Higher, Technical, and Adult Education & Language Development sectors. In this way, in calculating education expenditure, the document covers as many as 46 Union ministries for the year 2017-18 [4], along with relevant state departments.

The latest version of this report (published in 2022) also covers roughly 47 Union ministries for the year 2019-20 and estimated public expenditure on education as a share of GDP at 4.39 per cent [5] for 2019-20 BEs. It is equally important to note that while Economic Surveys are published with a one-year lag, the other report (Source 2) comes out after a two year lag period. It was last published in 2022, which has the most recent data of FY 2019-20 BEs.

The 6 per cent conundrum

The target of spending 6 per cent of GDP on public education is based on the Kothari Commission’s recommendation as was discussed in the previous blog, and the definition of education considered by them was more or less aligned with that used by India’s Economic Survey. For calculating total expenditure on education, the Kothari Commission report considered all direct and indirect expenditures [6] on education (Elementary, Secondary, and Higher education) from departments.

Thus, in order to track the progress of the target for public spending on education in the future, the methodology adopted by the Economic Survey seems to have better comparability with the Kothari Commission methodology than the Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education.

One therefore needs to be aware of these definitional differences across sources before arriving at any conclusion regarding the extent of India’s size of public investment in education, which might have a bearing on further policy decisions. Similarly, one needs to be careful in considering these while comparing this crucial indicator over time (and across sources!).

Mridusmita Bordoloi is an Associate Fellow and Sharad Pandey is a Senior Research Associate at Accountability Initiative.

Editorial inputs by Avantika Shrivastava.

Notes:

[1] New Education Policy Draft, 2019, MHRD, GoI.

[2] New Education Policy, 2020, MHRD, GoI.

[3] It is an annual report of the economy which analyses the performance of each sector and suggests future moves. It is presented a day before the budget.

[4] Analysis of Budget Expenditure on Education 2015-17 to 2017-18.

[5] Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education 2017-18 to 2019-20.

[6] Indirect expenditures included Direction and Inspection, Buildings, Scholarships, Stipends, Hostels, and other miscellaneous expenditures.

Also Read: Enrollment Falls In Private Schools Due To Covid-19-Induced Income Shock

Are Anti-Corruption Commissions Effective?

I had ended last week’s blog by saying that in India, we need to learn from the experience of other countries where corruption has been effectively tackled.

In this direction, the first point to be examined in the context of the weakening of our Lokayuktas, as evidenced by the example of Karnataka related in last week’s blog, is whether Anti-Corruption Commissions are effective in other countries.

An instructive paper in this regard has been published by the World Bank Institute, entitled ‘Anti-Corruption Commissions Panacea or Real Medicine to Fight Corruption?’ by John R. Heilbrunn. In this paper, the author describes the typology of anti-corruption institutional strategies, assesses their performance, and ends with the identification of patterns and trends, which also contains a few suggestions for improvement.

Heilbrunn describes anti-corruption institutional mechanisms as falling within four categories.

The first is the ‘universal model’, which undertakes investigative, preventive, and communicative functions.
The second is the ‘investigative model’, where the anti-corruption agency only undertakes investigations and prosecutions and does not have any role in prevention or communication outreach.
The third is the ‘Parliamentary model’, where a commission, which is independent of the executive and judicial branches of the government, is set up by Parliament and is obliged to report to the Parliament.
The final model is the ‘Multi-agency model’, where anti-corruption responsibilities are divided among different agencies which undertake various activities, ranging from prevention to investigation, and prosecution.

The ‘Universal model’ is typified by the famous Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption. This institution was set up in the light of rampant corruption in the early 1970s, and it head-on plunged into wide-ranging action against Hong Kong’s police force, which was known to be deeply involved in corruption. Early success was achieved when it was able to have a corrupt former head of the police force extradited from the UK and prosecuted and punished in Hong Kong.

The ICAC, with the powerful backup legislation that enabled it to undertake searches and seizures, impound passports, and confiscate properties, not only undertook policing, investigation and prosecution, but also undertook outreach activities and inquired into administrative reforms aimed at reducing corruption.

Singapore, on the other hand, adopted a narrower approach by establishing the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). This small but powerful agency is answerable to the executive but is given independence to investigate corruption and aim at prosecution.

In Australia, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption was set up under Parliament and reports to Parliament. Its powers are largely of a preventive nature. Parliament has also given it the power to investigate corruption charges against Members of Parliament.

In the United States, the growth of a network of institutions that share responsibilities for the prevention of corruption was triggered by a series of scandals over decades. Each scandal prompted the government to think about enlarging institutions and structuring their activities. Therefore, the United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is one of the many institutions that aim to prevent corruption.

The OGE oversees the implementation of the Ethics in Government Act, 1978, which contains several codes of conduct that are aimed at reducing conflict of interest, “from accepting employment with Federal Contractors, serving on boards of companies that contract with the government, and profiting from their official positions for a period after leaving office” (Heilbrunn).

In its anti-corruption activities, the OGE:

“Cooperates with a variety of offices in the executive branch, including the Office of Management and Budget, Government Accounting Office, and police agencies in the Justice Department. Its mandate is to deter conflicts of interest by disseminating information on laws and regulations that govern public sector employment.” (Heilbrunn).

When it comes to assessing the effectiveness of these institutions, Heilbrunn is blunt with his findings. He argues that “anti-corruption commissions fail to reduce public sector venality in all but a few special circumstances”.

Elaborating on this finding, Heilbrunn concludes as follows:

“It is hardly surprising that anti-corruption commissions have compiled a dismal record of effectiveness. The losers of policy reforms include people in business who have captured rents from a corrupt government and public servants who have profited from the discretion to allocate those rents. The machinations of venal actors in the private sector, elected officials, and appointed public servants have all too often eviscerated reformers’ efforts to enact sustainable policies. Political leaders in developing economies have few incentives to implement effective public sector reform and enforce those reforms through an anti-corruption commission that risk the alienation of key supporters. However, when cronyism is a norm and political leaders are in a tenuous position, they have an incentive to create anti-corruption agencies that are hollow organizations to divert attention from other possible reforms.“

These findings are a reality check for those who harbour the belief, and I count myself amongst such believers, that anti-corruption agencies can be effective in rooting out or diminishing corruption.

Armed with Heilbrunn’s findings, I will examine where we stand with respect to our Lokayuktas. What would be the typology of this institution? Are there ways to make the Lokayukta more effective, or are they, for the reasons that Heilbrunn lays down, institutions doomed to fail?

T.R. Raghunandan is an Advisor at the Accountability Initiative.

Also Read: How Funds for Women’s Safety in India have been Under-utilised

‘No Special Activities for Remedial Measures’

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April 2020 is a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, Panchayat functionaries, beneficiaries, and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices.

This interview was conducted with a Teacher in Madhya Pradesh in Hindi on 3 January 2022, and has been translated.

Q. Has there been a change in student enrollment as well as attendance?

Teacher: Talking about my school, we did a survey in the village this year and got all the children enrolled in the school. The enrollments have also been high because many families have migrated to our village from a nearby nature sanctuary.

The attendance is also fine because mid-day meals are being distributed. The school has opened after about two years, so the children are also coming.

Q. Since children have physically come to school after a long time, is there a difference in their learning levels? Are remedial steps being taken?

Teacher: The learning levels of children have dropped steeply. There are many reasons for the same; the children have been away from schools for a long time, teachers were also not able to meet them directly, only online classes were available, some children did not even have the resources to take online classes, and parents who are less or not educated at all were also not able to provide children the needed support.

We are not conducting any special activities for remedial measures, but children are being taught according to their level. Efforts are being made to improve their learning level through bridge courses. Another thing is that the new NCERT books have a lot of worksheets, and we are seeing improvement in children who are practising using these worksheets.

Q. How have your duties and responsibilities changed after the reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Teacher: There has not been much change, but in the past, when we were holding classes at 50 per cent capacity, we had to inform parents about when their child had to come to school. Now, all the teachers go from door-to-door to meet the parents and encourage them to send their children to school with confidence. As per instructions, we have also been given the responsibility to spread awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine in the village.

Q. Have you received any kind of teacher training to address these challenges?

Teacher: Yes, we have received training at the state, district, block and cluster levels through online medium. In these training sessions, we were told how to improve the mental and educational levels of children. We also received materials for the same through online applications.

Q. Has your school received annual grants in the last two years? Along with this, have you received separate funds to reopen the school or for the COVID-19 friendly classroom assessment?

Teacher: We have received the same grants which we did last year for maintenance of the school. No separate funds have been granted, but every child was given a mask in the school, and even that is not being given now. We do not have any information about grants like the 15th Finance Commission. The Panchayat has undertaken work on the outer wall of our school and the survey work for the same has also been done.

More experiences can be found on the dedicated Inside Districts platform.

पॉलिसी बज़्ज़

विभिन्न कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में क्या घटित हो रहा है, यह पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ आपको हर 15 दिन के अंदर ख़ास ख़बरों के साथ अपडेट करता है |

नीतियों से जुडी खबरें

केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल ने सहकारी समितियों द्वारा खरीद को अनुमति देकर सरकारी ई-मार्केटप्लेस (जी.ई.एम) के दायरे का विस्तार करने का प्रस्ताव मंजूर किया है।
इलेक्ट्रानिकी और सूचना प्रोधोगिकी मंत्रालय ने राष्ट्रीय डेटा गवर्नेंस फ्रेमवर्क नीति का ड्राफ्ट जारी किया है। सरकार ने 11 जून 2022 तक नवीनतम ड्राफ्ट पर इनपुट और फीडबैक आमंत्रित किये हैं।
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल ने ₹13,554 करोड़ के परिव्यय के साथ प्रधानमंत्री रोजगार सृजन कार्यक्रम (पी.एम.ई.जीपी) को 2025-26 तक बढ़ा दिया है |
केंद्र ने मई 2022 तक देय जी.एस.टी मुआवजे को पूरा करने के लिए राज्यों को ₹86.9 हजार करोड़ रुपये जारी किये।
आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय ने सिंगल यूज प्लास्टिक के उपयोग को क्रमवार तरीके से समाप्त करने के लिए राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को एक विस्तृत सलाह जारी की है।
भारत ने, कम से कम 60 देशों के साथ, विकासशील और गरीब देशों के लिए खाध सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करने के लिए विश्व व्यापार संगठन के सामने खाध खरीद, भंडार और वितरण के लिए दी जाने वाली सब्सिडी की गणना करने के लिए एक नई प्रक्रिया का प्रस्ताव रखा है।

स्वास्थ्य और पोषण

नैशनल हैल्थ एसोसिएशन ने आयुष्मान भारत डिजिटल मिशन के साथ टेलीमेडिसिन प्लेटफॉर्म ई-संजीवनी के एकीकरण की घोषणा की है |
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल ने प्रधानमंत्री जीवन ज्योति बीमा योजना (पी.एम.जे,जे,बी,वाई) और प्रधानमंत्री सुरक्षा बीमा योजना (पी.एम.एस.बी.वाई) के लिए बीमा प्रीमियम दरों में वृद्धि की है।
यूनिसेफ ने ‘सीवीयर वास्टिंग: एन ओवरलुक्ड चाइल्ड सरवाईवल इमरजेंसी‘ शीर्षक से रिपोर्ट जारी की है। रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 57.7 लाख प्रभावित बच्चों के साथ भारत गंभीर रूप से वास्टिंग होने वाले बच्चों में पहले स्थान पर है।

शिक्षा

सामाजिक न्याय और अधिकारिता मंत्रालय ने अनुसूचित जाति के छात्रों को छात्रवृत्ति की सहायता से सी.बीए.सई आवासीय स्कूलों में पढ़ने में सक्षम बनाने के लिए श्रेष्ठ योजना शुरू की है।
स्कूल शिक्षा और साक्षरता विभाग, शिक्षा मंत्रालय ने राष्ट्रीय उपलब्धि सर्वेक्षण (एन.ए.एस) 2021 रिपोर्ट जारी की है।
राष्ट्रीय अध्यापक शिक्षा परिषद ने उच्च शिक्षा संस्थानों में अध्यापक शिक्षा कार्यक्रमों की मान्यता प्रक्रिया को सरल बनाने के लिए एक ऑनलाइन पोर्टल लॉन्च किया है।
शिक्षा मंत्रालय ने छात्रों की स्किलिंग, रीस्किलिंग और अपस्किलिंग पर ध्यान देने के साथ कक्षा 7 से स्नातक तक के एक करोड़ छात्रों के लिए डिजिटल स्किलिंग उपक्रम शुरू किया है।
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल ने जम्मू-कश्मीर और लद्दाख में छात्रों के लिए प्रधानमंत्री विशेष छात्रवृत्ति योजना (पी.एम.एस.एस.एस) को पांच साल के लिए बढ़ा दिया है।

स्वच्छता

आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय ने कचरा मुक्त शहरों के लिए ‘वेस्ट टू वेल्थ’ विषय के साथ स्वच्छता सर्वेक्षण 2023 लॉन्च किया।
पर्यावरण, वन और जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्रालय ने ई-कचरा प्रबंधन नियमों का ड्राफ्ट जारी किया, जिसका उद्देश्य व्यवसायों के लिए इलेक्ट्रॉनिक कचरे के पुनउपयोग का पालन करने के लिए संशोधित मानक निर्धारित करना है।

अन्य खबरें

हाल के आंकड़ों के अनुसार, जून 2015 में 1.2 करोड़ घरों के निर्माण के लक्ष्य के साथ शुरू हुई प्रधानमंत्री आवास योजना-शहरी (पी.एम.ए.वाई-यू) के तहत अब तक केवल 60 लाख घरों को ही पूरा किया गया है।
नवीन और नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा राज्य मंत्री ने अखिल भारतीय रूफटॉप सौर जागरूकता अभियान शुरू किया। मंत्रालय घरों में सौर पेनल्स लगाने के लिए 40 प्रतिशत सब्सिडी भी प्रदान कर रहा है।
प्रधानमंत्री के आर्थिक सलाहकार परिषद (ई.ए.सी-पी.एम) द्वारा भारत में असमानता की स्थिति रिपोर्ट जारी की गई।
बस्तर जिले के गाँव के निवासियों को सामुदायिक वन संसाधन अधिकार प्रमाण पत्र प्रदान करने के बाद छत्तीसगढ़ राष्ट्रीय उधान क्षेत्र के अंदर सामुदायिक वन अधिकारों को मान्यता देने वाला दूसरा राज्य बन गया है।

यह लेख पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ के अंग्रेजी संस्करण पर आधारित है जो 7 जून 2022 को प्रकाशित हुआ था।

पॉलिसी बझ

हे पॉलिसी बझ तुम्हाला विविध कल्याणकारी योजनांमध्ये काय चालले आहे याविषयी दर 15 दिवसांनी विशेष बातम्या अपडेट करते.

धोरण बातम्या

सहकारी संस्थांकडून खरेदीला परवानगी देऊन सरकारी ई-मार्केटप्लेस (GeM) च्या आदेशाचा विस्तार करण्याचा प्रस्ताव केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळाने स्वीकारला.
इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स आणि माहिती तंत्रज्ञान मंत्रालयाने राष्ट्रीय डेटा गव्हर्नन्स फ्रेमवर्क धोरणाचा मसुदा जारी केला. सरकारने 11 जूनपर्यंत ताज्या मसुद्यावर इनपुट आणि फीडबॅक मागवले आहेत.
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळाने 13,554.42 कोटी रुपयांच्या खर्चासह पंतप्रधान रोजगार निर्मिती कार्यक्रम (PMEGP) 2025-26 पर्यंत वाढवला आहे.
केंद्राने मे 2022 पर्यंत देय जीएसटी भरपाई मंजूर करण्यासाठी राज्यांना 86.9 हजार कोटी जारी केले.
गृहनिर्माण आणि शहरी व्यवहार मंत्रालयाने राज्ये आणि केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांना एकल-वापर प्लास्टिकचा वापर टप्प्याटप्प्याने बंद करण्यासाठी अनेक उपक्रम सुरू करण्यासाठी तपशीलवार सल्लागार जारी केला आहे.
विकसनशील आणि गरीब राष्ट्रांसाठी अन्न सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित करण्यासाठी जागतिक व्यापार संघटनेला अन्न खरेदी, साठा आणि वितरणासाठी दिलेल्या अनुदानाची गणना करण्यासाठी भारताने किमान 60 राष्ट्रांसह एक नवीन पद्धत प्रस्तावित केली.

आरोग्य आणि पोषण

नॅशनल हेल्थ असोसिएशनने आयुष्मान भारत डिजिटल मिशनसह टेलिमेडिसिन प्लॅटफॉर्म ई-संजीवनीचे एकत्रीकरण जाहीर केले.
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळाने प्रधानमंत्री जीवन ज्योती विमा योजना (PMJJBY) आणि प्रधानमंत्री सुरक्षा विमा योजना (PMSBY) साठी विमा प्रीमियम दर वाढवले आहेत.
केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळाने जम्मू-काश्मीर आणि लडाखमधील विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी पंतप्रधान विशेष शिष्यवृत्ती योजना (PMSSS) पाच वर्षांसाठी वाढवली.
युनिसेफने ‘तीव्र अपव्यय: एक दुर्लक्षित बालक जगण्याची आणीबाणी’ या शीर्षकाचा अहवाल प्रसिद्ध केला. अहवालानुसार, 5.77 दशलक्ष बाधित मुलांसह गंभीर बाल वाया जाणाऱ्यांमध्ये भारत पहिल्या क्रमांकावर आहे.

शिक्षण

सामाजिक न्याय आणि सशक्तीकरण मंत्रालयाने लक्ष्यित क्षेत्रातील उच्च शाळांमधील विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी निवासी शिक्षणाची योजना सुरू केली (SHRESHTA), अनुसूचित जातीच्या विद्यार्थ्यांना CBSE-संलग्न निवासी शाळांमध्ये शिकण्यास सक्षम करण्यासाठी शिष्यवृत्ती योजना आहे.
शालेय शिक्षण आणि साक्षरता विभाग, शिक्षण मंत्रालयाने नॅशनल अचिव्हमेंट सर्व्हे (NAS) 2021 अहवाल जारी केला.
नॅशनल कौन्सिल फॉर टीचर एज्युकेशनने उच्च शिक्षण संस्थांमधील शिक्षक शिक्षण कार्यक्रमांच्या मान्यता प्रक्रियेला सुलभ करण्यासाठी ऑनलाइन पोर्टल सुरू केले.
शिक्षण मंत्रालयाने इयत्ता 7 वी ते पदवीपर्यंतच्या एक कोटी विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी कौशल्य, पुनर्कुशल आणि उच्च कौशल्यावर लक्ष केंद्रित करून एक डिजिटल कौशल्य उपक्रम सुरू केला आहे.

स्वच्छता

गृहनिर्माण आणि शहरी व्यवहार मंत्रालयाने कचरामुक्त शहरांसाठी ‘वेस्ट टू वेल्थ’ या थीमसह स्वच्छ सर्वेक्षण २०२३ लाँच केले आहे.
पर्यावरण, वन आणि हवामान बदल मंत्रालयाने ई-कचरा व्यवस्थापन नियमांचा मसुदा जारी केला, ज्याचा उद्देश इलेक्ट्रॉनिक कचरा पुनर्वापर करण्यासाठी व्यवसायांसाठी सुधारित मानके सेट करणे आहे.

इतर बातम्या

अलीकडील आकडेवारीनुसार, प्रधानमंत्री आवास योजना-शहरी (PMAY-U) अंतर्गत, जून 2015 मध्ये 1.2 कोटी घरे बांधण्याचे उद्दिष्ट घेऊन सुरू करण्यात आली होती, आजपर्यंत केवळ 60 लाख घरे पूर्ण झाली आहेत.
नवीन आणि नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा राज्य मंत्रालयाने संपूर्ण भारत रूफटॉप सौर जागरूकता मोहीम सुरू केली. मंत्रालय घरांमध्ये सोलर बसवण्यासाठी 40 टक्के सबसिडीही देत आहे.
भारतातील विषमतेच्या स्थितीचा अहवाल आर्थिक सल्लागार परिषदेने पंतप्रधानांना (EAC-PM) जारी केला.
बस्तर जिल्ह्यातील एका खेड्यातील रहिवाशांना सामुदायिक वनसंपत्ती अधिकार प्रमाणपत्रे प्रदान केल्यानंतर राष्ट्रीय उद्यान क्षेत्रातील सामुदायिक वन हक्क ओळखणारे छत्तीसगड हे ओडिशा नंतर भारतातील दुसरे राज्य बनले आहे.

हा लेख पॉलिसी बझच्या इंग्रजी आवृत्तीवर आधारित आहे जो 7 जून 2022 रोजी प्रकाशित झाला.

Policy Buzz

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news – Policy Buzz – published every fortnight.

Policy News

The Union Cabinet accepted the proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Draft National Data Governance Framework Policy. The government has invited inputs and feedback on the latest draft by 11 June 2022.
The Union Cabinet extended the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) till 2025-26 with an outlay of ₹13,554.42 crore.
The Centre released ₹86.9 thousand crores to states to clear the GST compensation payable till May 2022.
A detailed advisory was issued to states and UTs to take up a range of activities to phase out the use of single use plastic by the Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs.
India, along with at least 60 nations, proposed a new method to calculate subsidies given to purchase, stockpile and distribute food to the World Trade Organisation to ensure food security for developing and poor nations.

Health & Nutrition

The National Health Association announced the integration of E-Sanjeevani, a telemedicine platform, with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
The Union Cabinet has raised the insurance premium rates for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
UNICEF released a report titled ‘Severe wasting: An overlooked child survival emergency’. According to the report, India ranks first in severe child wasting with 5.77 million affected children.

Education

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA), a scholarship scheme to enable Scheduled Castes students to study in CBSE-affiliated residential schools.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education released the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report. Read about preparedness of states to cater to challenges related to reopening of physical schools in our Budget Brief on Samagra Shiksha.
The Union Cabinet extended the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) for students in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for five years.
The National Council for Teacher Education launched an online portal to simplify the process of recognition of teacher education programmes in higher education institutions.
The Ministry of Education launched a digital skilling initiative for one crore students from Class 7 to graduation with a focus on skilling, reskilling and upskilling students.

Sanitation

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Swachh Survekshan 2023 with the theme ‘Waste to Wealth’ for garbage-free cities.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released Draft E-waste Management Rules, which aims to set revised standards for businesses to adhere to recycling electronic waste.

Other News

According to recent figures, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), started in June 2015 with a target of constructing 1.2 crore homes, only 60 lakh houses have been completed to date. Also read about the progress of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) with our Budget Brief 2022.
The Ministry of State for New and Renewable Energy launched the Pan-India Rooftop Solar Awareness Campaign. The Ministry is also providing a 40 per cent subsidy for households to install solar.
The State of Inequality in India Report was released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
Chhattisgarh became the second state, after Odisha, in India to recognise community forest rights inside a national park area after providing Community forest resources rights certificates to residents of a village in Bastar district.

Also Read: ‘Have not Received any Financial Incentive during the Pandemic’

The Karnataka Lokayukta and the Dilution of Accountability

A few weeks back, a contentious issue hit the headlines in Bengaluru. The state government withdrew nearly all its police officers, of the rank of Superintendents and Deputy Superintendents, from the Karnataka Lokayukta which is the state’s anti-corruption agency and Ombudsman. Three months earlier, the last incumbent of the position of the Lokayukta had demitted office on the attainment of the age of 75 years, which is the retirement age.

There is a reason why this act, which would be considered unfortunate in any state, is particularly deplorable for Karnataka. It was the first state to constitute a Lokayukta in 1984. The then Chief Minister, Ramakrishna Hegde, was considered to not be a run-of-the-mill politician. Suave, polite, and principled, at least at first sight, he coined the term ‘Value Based Politics’ and took some steps that were widely regarded as far-reaching reforms. One of those was to constitute the Karnataka Lokayukta.

The institution of the Lokayukta was a combination of an anti-corruption agency and an Ombudsman. It was to be headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge or a retired Chief Justice of the High Court, in the selection of whom the Chief Minister was to mandatorily consult the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Chairperson of the Legislative Council and the Leader of the Opposition, before recommending the name of the chosen individual to the Governor. To give the Lokayukta the prime responsibility to tackle corruption, the government’s internal Vigilance Commission was abolished.

There is no doubt that the institution was powerful. The Lokayukta had the power to investigate allegations about corruption from the Chief Minister downward as well as to investigate grievances that were raised before it by affected citizens. Furthermore, if the law were to be read generously, it could expand its scope to be an administrative reform commission.

The latter was an especially promising opening, which was explained to me by a former Lokayukta, Justice Venkatachala.

Section 7 of the Act stated the matters that may be investigated by the Lokayukta and an Upalokayukta. These included any action which is taken by or with the general or specific approval of the Chief Minister, a minister, a member of the state legislature, chairpersons of authorities boards, and so on, where a complaint involving a grievance is made in respect of such action. An investigation could also be undertaken into the acts of other public servants as detailed in the Act, not only where a complaint is given regarding a grievance, or where the Lokayukta, for reasons recorded in writing, opines that it is the subject of a grievance.

As can be seen, the keyword in these empowering provisions is that there ought to be a grievance, which triggers an investigation.

The word ‘grievance’ is defined in Section 2 (8) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, as “a claim by a person that he sustained injustice or undue hardship in consequence of mal-administration”. ‘Mal-administration’, in turn, is defined in Section 2(10) of the Lokayukta Act as:

“….action taken or purporting to have been taken in the exercise of administrative function in any case where, such action or the administrative procedure or practice governing such action is unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory; or there has been willful negligence or undue delay in taking such action or the administrative procedure or practice governing such action involves undue delay…”

Thus, it stood to reason that a full and effective investigation into a grievance could also probe into the causes of the mal-administration that caused such grievance to arise, and make suggestions as to how such mal-administration might be cured so that the scope for future grievances are reduced.

With such powerful provisions in the law to empower it, it was not long before tension arose between Lokayuktas and the government. Proactive Lokayuktas began to inspect offices, which led the government to react by asserting that Lokayuktas could only investigate grievances. Yet, one pro-active Lokayukta was able to conduct a high-quality investigation into irregularities in mining and other land-related corruption, which ended up with a Chief Minister of the state being jailed and having to resign from his high office.

Clearly, something had to be done to curb the independence of the Lokayukta. The plan to neutralise it was hatched and executed with skill. It was not an abrupt amputation, but slow strangulation.

First, in 2016, an Anti-Corruption Bureau was set up within the state policing system, under the Home Department. The ostensible reason for setting it up was that the Lokayukta was swamped with work, and hence, anti-corruption action was better handled outside the Lokayukta. Then, came the recent decision to remove high-ranking police officers from the Lokayukta and withdraw them to the state.

This cropping of the organisational capacity of the institution has come at a time when the post of Lokayukta has been kept vacant for three months now.

The public has reacted cynically, but there is more than mere headshaking to be done at this crippling of an institution that promised to be an effective bulwark against spreading corruption. How should such institutions be designed? What are the good practices in designing and operating an effective anti-corruption commission?

There is a lot to be learned here, from the experience of other countries where corruption has been effectively tackled. This subject and its various facets will be examined in subsequent blogs.