Rainfed authority again an arm of farm ministry; UIDAI gets boost

Budget of NITI Aayog may go up by 18.20% in 2015-16

In a classic case of back to basics, the National Rainfed  Area Authority (NRAA), which since 2010 has been part of the erstwhile Planning Commission, will henceforth be an arm of the department of agriculture, as NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog is up for a rejig.

NRAA’s budget in 2014-15 was about Rs 31.50 crore, while the actual allocation to it during the year was about Rs 26.65 crore — a shortfall of almost 15.39 per cent.

However, the 2015-16 Budget estimates show that the authority has been allocated Rs 20 crore and that too within the allocation of the ministry of agriculture.

It was in 2010 that the authority, which was tasked to frame policies and specific interventions to develop agriculture in those which do not receive adequate rainfall, was moved from the ministry of agriculture and was made an attached office of the Planning Commission.

“The basic idea behind giving the Rainfed authority a new and distinct identity was  to ensure convergence and coordination among different ministries, but now that role of the Planning Commission itself is undergoing a change, probably the government feels that the NRAA does not need to be a separate body,” a senior official said. He said a formal order on the shift is still awaited.

The NRAA was instrumental in framing two special packages for the rain-starved Bundelkhand region. At present, it has around 25 regular staff, including researches, and an equal number of  employees on contractual basis.

That apart, according to the Budget documents, in the ministry of planning, the maximum hike has been towards the Unique Identification of Authority of India (UIDAI), which is attached to the NITI Aayog. UIDAI’s allocation in the 2015-16 Budget Estimates have risen by a whopping 48 per cent,  compared to the Revised Estimates (RE)and was pegged at Rs 1,638.22 crore.

This perhaps explains the Narendra Modi government's special emphasis towards continuing the expansion of Aadhaar cards and gradual linkage of all major subsidies through the platform.

Overall, the budget of NITI Aayog secretariat, which now houses the staff and officials of the erstwhile Planning Commission, is expected to increase by 18.20 per cent in 2015-16 as against the RE 2014-15.

The office of the advisor to the prime minister on public information, infrastructure and innovations, which in the previous United Progressive Alliance government was headed by technocrat Sam Pitroda, was closed during the course of the current financial year, so also has been the office of Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).

The prime minister, in his maiden Independence Day address, had announced the winding up of the Planning Commission and later replaced it with the NITI Aayog.

Eminent economist Arvind Panagariya is its first vice-chairman, while Bibek Debroy and V K Saraswat are the two permanent members.

On UIDAI, the recent economic survey has strongly advocated dovetailing the platform along with Jan Dhan and mobile-based applications for electronic transfer of major subsidies through proper identification to plug leakages.

Back to basics

• The Rainfed authority moves back to department of agriculture
   
• It was earlier part of the Planning Commission of India
   
• Till 2010, it was part of the department of agriculture
   
• Under the erstwhile Planning Commission, NRAA was instrumental in framing a package for water-starved Bundelkhand region
  

 

NRAA has around 50 members' staff both regular and contractual