While acknowledging the UPA government?s thrust on increasing social sector investments through programmes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) & Bharat Nirman, the Economic Survey 2008-9 has stressed poverty eradication initiatives have not reduced incidence of malnourishment across the country.
?While poverty rates have declined significantly, malnutrition has remained stubbornly high,? the survey has observed. Even a ?developed? state such as Punjab is having a poverty ratio of 8.4% and has 27% children below 3 years as underweight. Similarly other ?developed? states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat and Haryana have witnessed high incidences of malnutrition.
While stressing the need for greater focus on malnutrition issues, the survey said ?While the ability to access such food items depends on household income and is addressed through programmes like NREGS, there are other factors which are equally important but are ignored.?
The Survey categorically states that the existing policies and programmes are not making a dent on malnutrition and need to be modified. The National Family Health Survey (2005-06) indicated that underweight children constitute 45.9% of those below the age of three years.
The Survey said apart from poverty, poor feeding practices in infancy and early childhood, are among the main reasons for high rates of malnutrition. ?It may be observed that malnutrition cannot entirely be explained by poverty though it is an important determinant?.
The Survey also acknowledges that the share of the central government expenditure on social service including rural development in the total government?s expenditure has increased from 11.23% in 2002-3 to 19.44% in 2008-9 (as per the budget estimates). It also notes that the social services (education, health and others) expenditure by both the central and state governments has increased from Rs 1,53,454 crore in 2003-4 to Rs 3,57,381 crore in 2008-9 (as per the budge estimates), a significant rise of 132%.
Despite the revamp of the Targetted Public Distribution System (TPDS) for providing subsidies food grains and other items to poor families, the survey identifies major deficiencies including exclusion and inclusion errors in the implementation of the scheme. The Survey suggests introduction of ?food coupons/stamps? and smart cards to poor to preventing pilferages in the TPDS.
?In PDS system, the smart card will reduce the incidence of bogus ration cards or diversion of foodgrains. Leakages can also be restricted by redirecting subsidies currently under PDS to better funding of other schemes like Mid-Day Meal scheme or the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS),? the survey said.
Making a special reference on NREGS, the survey said about 4.5 crore households across the country benefited from the employment guarantee scheme in 2008-9, an increase of more than 32% over the previous year.
NREGS allocation during the interim budget for 2009-10 increased to Rs 30,100 crore from the last year?s allocation of Rs 16,000 crore as programme was extended to all districts during last fiscal from 330 districts covered in 2007-8.
Another flagship programme of UPA, Bharat Nirman also finds a special mention in the economic survey. This programme, launched in 2005-06 for building infrastructure and basic amenities in rural areas. Bharat Nirman has received an outlay of Rs 40,900 crore in the interim budget for 2009-10 as against Rs 31,280 crore in 2008-09. The Survey claims that till March 2009, a total length of 2,14,281 kilometres. of roadworks has been completed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) with a cumulative expenditure of Rs 46,807 crore.
Giving credit to Total Sanitation Campaign initiated by the ministry of rural development, the survey said there has also been tremendous increase in the access to sanitation facilities by rural households. ?The sanitation coverage among rural households has increased from 21.9% in 2001 to 27.3% in 2004 and has more than doubled since then to 63.91% till May this year,? the survey has observed.