New Delhi, December 29 (IANS). Under the newly developed Bharat Employment and Livelihood Guarantee Mission-Gramin (VB-Ji Ram Ji) scheme, funds will be distributed between the Center and the states on the basis of fixed parameters. Due to this, states can get additional benefit of about Rs 17,000 crore compared to the average allocation of the last 7 years. This has been said in a report of SBI Research released on Monday.
Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Advisor, State Bank of India (SBI), said that if only the Centre’s share is evaluated on the basis of seven fixed parameters, then most of the states will benefit. He said that under this estimate, states may get about Rs 17,000 crore more than the average allocation of the last 7 years.
A hypothetical situation has been created in the report, in which both equality and ability to work have been given equal importance for distributing funds.
Two main bases of this system have been stated. First, equality means giving more help to those states where the need is greater, rural population is more and administrative responsibility is greater, so that the demand for employment there can be met.
Second, efficiency, that is, incentivizing those states that use the money received to create permanent jobs, create durable assets and pay wages on time.
According to the report, these seven standards are divided on the basis of justice and efficiency. In this, the average allocation under the MNREGA (MGNREGA) scheme from the financial year 2019 to 2025 (except the year 2020-21) has been compared with the newly set standards.
Overall, this new approach will benefit the states by about Rs 17,000 crore compared to the last 7 years. That means most states will be in profit.
According to the report, almost all the states will get benefits in this estimated situation. Only two states may suffer very minor damage.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, it was said that if the abnormal increase in FY 2024 (which was 29 percent more than the average of FY 2022 and 2023) is removed, then the loss remains almost negligible.
The report says that Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra will benefit the most. After these, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat are likely to get more benefits.
If the money is distributed on the basis of clear and fixed parameters, then both developed and backward states will benefit from it. Also, states can further improve the outcomes of this scheme with their 40 percent contribution.
–IANS
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