The Union government that ran 906 central sector schemes in its last tenure underfunded 71.9% of them.
By NAVYA ASOPA&SHREEGIREESH JALIHAL
(Originally published by The Reporters’ Collective)
New Delhi: Five years ago, the Narendra Modi government grabbed headlines with a budgetary commitment.
“The Government of India has decided to extend the pension benefit to about three crore retail traders and small shopkeepers,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden budget speech in July 2019.
As she announced the name of the scheme, Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Maan Dhan, amid the celebratory thumping in the House, the camera panned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose government pledged to spend Rs 750 crore in the first year of the scheme that promised a monthly pension of Rs 3,000.
However, as the attention faded, the commitment too died. In its first year, the government spent only Rs 155.9 crore, leaving a staggering funding gap of Rs 594 crore.
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