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Despite keeping a tight rein on revenue expenditure, the Centrally-sponsored schemes have received good allocation in the Budget for 2024-25. Out of a total of 75 schemes, 51 saw an increase in their allocations, 16 experienced a decline, and five remained unchanged. Of note is that 46 schemes saw an increase in allocation of over 10 per cent.
Among the schemes, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-Rural, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and PMAY-Urban have shown the most substantial increases, with growth rates of 70 per cent, 53 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.
The Centrally-sponsored schemes are programmes implemented by State governments but funded and sponsored by the Central government, which provides a specified share of the funding.
Better focus
Professor Amit Kundu of Department of Economics, Jadavpur University, explained, “For the last few years, the Budget has focused more on infrastructure and housing, particularly for households living in kuccha houses. This focus is necessary to alleviate poverty among the Indian population. Infrastructural expansion, including the construction of highways, has two positive impacts: it enhances connectivity efficiency, reducing travel time, and generates employment. However, the employment generated in this sector is mostly informal.”
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Jal Jeevan Mission received the highest Budget allocations for 2024-25, with ₹86,000 crore and ₹70,162 crore, respectively, although their growth remained flat compared with the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 schemes saw a slight decrease in their allocations, from ₹21,521 crore in 2023-24(RE) to ₹21,200 crore in 2024-25, reflecting a 1.5 per cent decline.
Other urban infrastructure schemes, such as the National Urban Digital Mission, the New ITI Upgradation Scheme, and City Investment to Innovate, Integrate, and Sustain 2.0, are three newly-funded initiatives that received allocations of ₹1,150 crore, ₹1,000 crore and ₹225 crore, respectively, in this year’s Budget.
The annual allocation for Centrally-sponsored schemes has grown from ₹2.03 lakh crore in 2015-16 to ₹3.83 lakh crore in 2020-21. Since then, the growth has slowed, with allocations reaching ₹4.6 lakh crore in 2023-24 (RE) and ₹5.05 lakh crore in 2024-25, reflecting a 9.8 per cent increase.
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