It will be raining moolah for the states in the Eleventh Plan. Funds for central sector programmes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission are expected to be hiked by a whopping 156.25% at Rs 12,00,738 crore in the 11th Plan period over Rs 4,68,578 crore allocated in the 10th Plan. This, because most of these programmes are implemented by the states.

Bulk of the increase in the Gross Budgetary Support is being made to ensure easy and appropriate flow of funds for the flagships programmes of the UPA government and core infrastructure sectors projects, for which about Rs 9,70,973 crore would be allocated. The remaining Rs 2,29,765 would be spent on the 50 departments and non-core sector projects.

A final decision on the exact GBS figures for the 11th Plan will be taken at the meeting of the full Planning Commission scheduled for August 6 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The total GBS for the 11th Plan has been pegged at Rs 15,761,54 crore by a finance ministry working group, an increase of over 123% against the GBS of Rs 7,06,000 in the Tenth Plan. The GBS for the current fiscal would be Rs 2,05,100 crore. This will grow to Rs 4,97,835 crore in the terminal year of the Eleventh Plan in which the government hopes to clock a GDP growth of 10%.

In the last five years, GBS has consistently grown by over 16% and the trend is likely to continue in the current Plan period as well.

With an eye on the general elections, GBS for 2008-09, the year of general polls, is expected to be Rs 2,21,772 crore which would again spiral up to Rs 2,77,565 crore. It would further move up to Rs 3,73,882 crore and Rs 4,97,835 crore in the final two years of the Plan period. The year 2008-09 also being the year when the government has to meet the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management target of reducing fiscal deficit to 3%, the Planning Commission feels that the hike in GBS would not come in the way of maintaining fiscal prudence and the increase will be consistent with the FRBM goalposts.