Centre's welfare schemes come up for review at meeting of Council of Ministers

The welfare schemes of the Centre came up for a review at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, sources in the government said.

This was the fifth time the Council of Ministers met since December 21, where specific sector-related issues were deliberated at length.

At every such meeting, top government officials usually make presentations.

The meetings are part of an exercise to finalise an action plan for key ministries for the next five years.

All the welfare schemes from across the ministries were discussed threadbare and their progress was evaluated at Wednesday's meeting, the sources said.

There was a special focus on the implementation of the schemes and how those could be made more effective for the beneficiaries at the grass-roots level, they added.

Based on the suggestions received at these meetings on the presentations by several committees of secretaries, the government would finalise the action plan for various ministries for the next five years.

The ministries are divided into various sectors such as agriculture, health, governance and technology for a speedier and better implementation of policies.

The action plan would help implement the policies for governance and development in a more systematic way and take the benefits to the grassroots level.

Another meeting of the Council of Ministers could take place next week to complete the review exercise, the sources said.

The BJP-led NDA returned to power with a bigger mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and it completed six months in its second term in November.