Union Budget 2020: The upcoming Union Budget 2020 may see current allocation for one of the UPA government’s legacy scheme sharply rise, whereas future allocation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s infrastructure schemes cut down. The revised estimate for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which was introduced by Congress-led UPA government in 2005, is expected to be hiked by over 23% to Rs 74,000 crore for the current fiscal year 2019-20, CNBC TV18 reported citing unidentified sources. The scheme was earlier allocated Rs 60,000 crore for FY20.
Further, both Narendra Modi government’s own schemes — Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — are expected to be given Rs 19,000 crore each for the next financial year 2020-21, the report said. While the allocation for PM Gram Sadak Yojana is expected to see a massive dip from previous allocation of Rs 80,000 crore, no change in the allocation for Housing for All scheme is expected.
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The government has so far spent Rs 53,634 crore from the total allocation of Rs 60,000 crore for MGNREGA scheme as of the official data updated till 26 January 2020. Out of this, Rs 38,524 crore was spent on wages and Rs 12,823 crore for purchasing materials. Under the MGNREGA scheme, a minimum of 100 days of wage employment is provided in a financial year to every rural household whose adult member volunteers to do unskilled manual work. The government also provides an additional 50 days of wage employment to drought-affected areas or natural calamity areas and to every scheduled tribe household in a forest area. The wage rates for workers are updated annually basis Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) by the Centre.
Meanwhile, the government data shows that India has laid 14,421 km length of road to date out of the target of laying 50,000 km road length to provide connectivity to unconnected habitations. In the preceding three years, the target of laying 50,000 km roads each year was more or less met.
