Pre-budget consultation with representatives from health, education and rural development sectors held

Discussion was held on improving efficiency in delivery of health services

Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Anurag Thakur held 10th and final Pre-Budget Consultation meeting with the leading representatives from Health, Education and Rural Development Sectors here today in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2020-21.

The main areas of discussion by the representatives in the aforesaid meeting was related to improving efficiency in delivery of health services; devising innovative ways to reach primary health care facilities for marginalised sections; improving learning outcomes at primary level while also making secondary and higher level education accessible and affordable; reforms related to pension and social protections especially for the weaker sections; focus of Government on public investment in social sector; gender equality with bottom's up methodology; ways to boost economic and social infrastructure of rural sector and ways to eradicate unemployment and poverty through development of agriculture and allied sector as well as non-farm sector.

Along with the Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs ,Anurag Thakur the said aforesaid meeting was attended by Rajeev Kumar, Finance Secretary; Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, DEA; Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Deptt. of Health & Family Welfare; Amit Khare, Secretary (Addl. Charge), Department of School Education and Literacy; Amarjeet Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development; Balram Bhargava, Secretary, DHR & DF, ICMR ,V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Pramod Chandra Mody, Chairman, CBDT; Dr K.V. Subramanian, CEA, and other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.

Among the many suggestions given by representatives of Health, Education and Rural Development Sectors were benefits of child budgeting; a dedicated National Fund for protection of children; eradication of child labour; collecting gender disaggregated data by a National mission; policy to encourage healthy food habits via measures like higher taxes on sin products; broadening, expanding and strengthening PDS; land titles to women in view of increasing feminisation of agriculture; changes in general procurement guidelines to include disabled-friendly technology; waiver of tax on assisted technology for disabled persons; better compliance of Right to Education and more financial allocation for secondary level schools, especially to support girl child and widening family healthcare support; augmenting pre-conception, antenatal and postnatal nutrition; employment generation with skill matching for youth in urban areas; focused skill development training for Adivasi and Dalit women; attracting more talent to aspirational districts with provision of tax holiday and a more effective monitoring of funds at Centre-State level.

The major participants in the aforesaid meeting included Abhinav Prakash, CSR Initiatives, Rashrtiya Sewa Bharati; Ambrish Rai, National Convenor, Right to Education Forum; Vijay Thadani, Past Chairman, CII Education Council; Ankita Upreti, Board Member, SEWA Bharat; Anshu Tiwari, Senior Manager, Prayas; Ashok Bharati, Chairman, NACDOR; Adikanda Singh, National Co-ordinator, Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights; Bhavna B. Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India; Bidisha Pillai, CEO, Save the Children; IPA Sinha, Member Secretariat, Right to Food Campaign; Dipendra Manocha, Managing Trustee, Saksham; Hari Menon, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Hemalatha R., Director, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Department of Health Research; Chandrakant Lakhariya, National Professional Officer (Health Care, Access and Protection), WHO India; Madan Diwan, Social Economist; Rohit Prasad, COO, Help Age India, Naresh Trehan, Executive Director, Public Health CII Centre Office; Preeti Mahara, Director, Policy Research & Advocacy, CRY-Child Rights and You; Samir Mathur, CEO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan; Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Assistant Secretary General - Health & Higher Education, FICCI; Terry Durnnian, Chief Education Section, UNICEF; S.M. Mehta, CEO, The Hans Foundation; Yogendra Malik, National Secretary, National Medicos Organisation and Dipali Sharma, Action Aid Association among others.

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