Gujarat plans `performance budget` for 2009-10

Laying aside the age-old norm of treating annual budget exercise purely as an activity of aggregrating numbers, the state government has decided to 'take into account' the quality of expenditure rather than mere physical numbers while preparing the budget for the year 2009-10.

The government has decided to treat the budget as an instrument for reforms at grassroots level or in other words linking outlays with outcomes at grassroots level.

The challenge before the government is to determine what outcomes citizens value the most and rethink the manner in which the department and agencies go on to achieve the results.

It may be noted that the state would be celebrating its Golden Jubilee Year on May 1, 2010. "This exercise is being done to ensure that goals for 2009-10 also become Golden Goals for all departments," said sources in state finance department.

The aim behind this move is not only the convergence of schemes but also the convergence of resources in a more effective manner since inter-departmental issues are likely to come up while setting performance indicators, according to an internal circular.

Department wise presentation will commence from September 9 onwards and all departments are likely to rope-in reputable agencies having skills in data analysis.

"If any department feels that certain expenditures are not producing desired results, such expenditures can be done away with. The departments are expected to adopt an 'out of the box approach' while doing this exercise. It will be a reflection of what the government is doing, how much and at what cost," sources said.

However, there is no single yardstick for measuring activity or for determining performance standards. Some deparments may use workload and unit cost data, others may use work source data or some descriptive materials.

Determination of suitable standards should be based on a complete understanding of the nature of work and past records of similar work, says a finance department circular.