Arun Shourie puts the Budget to the aam aadmi test and argues why the UPA fails miserably

One problem is that while the Government committed itself in that new scripture – The National Common Minimum Programme – to doubling the proportion of GDP that is devoted to social sectors like health and education, in fact, as NC Saxena, member of the UPA’s National Advisory Board, points out, the proportion continues to hover around half the pledged targets.

But that is the lesser problem. The even more debilitating one has been much in the admonitions of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. In his Budget speech for 2005/06, Chidambram drew pointed attention to this: ‘At the same time,’ he told the Treasury Benches that were cheering his announcements of higher outlays, ‘I must caution that outlays do not necessarily mean outcomes. The people of the country are concerned with outcomes. The Prime Minister has repeatedly emphasized the need to improve the quality of implementation and enhance the efficiency and accountability of the delivery mechanism.’

So what did he propose to do? ‘During the course of the year, together with the Planning Commission, we shall put in place a mechanism to measure the development outcomes of all major programmes,’ he told Parliament. ‘We shall also ensure that programmes and schemes are not allowed to continue indefinitely from one Plan period to the next without an independent and in-depth evaluation.’ Given that activists were said to have the ear of the Highup, Chidambram added, ‘Civil society should also engage Government in a healthy debate on the efficiency of the delivery mechanism.’

... contd.