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Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
From November 1, funds for all central schemes to come via 'Sparsh'
Fresh nudge Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Finance Ministry has directed all departments and state governments to adopt the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) 'Sparsh' funds release system for all Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) by October 31 this year. This means funds for all CSS will be released only through this system after November 1. The ministry sent a letter to all the concerned departments, states, and Union Territories (UTs), asking them to take necessary steps to meet the deadline. ET has seen a copy of the letter."From November 1, 2025, onwards, all CSS will be implemented through SNA Sparsh in all states and Union Territories (UTs) with legislature." The letter stated all ministries, government departments, state governments, and UTs with legislature must take necessary steps to adhere to the timelines for onboarding schemes on the SNA Sparsh platform. The move aims to streamline fund flow and improve transparency in scheme implementation and optimal utilization of funds. For FY2026, the Centre has budgeted ₹5.41 lakh crore for CSS, which is about 50% of the total capital expenditure outlay for the current financial is a "just-in-time" funds release system introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2022 for simplified payment and reconciliation for CSS. The system has helped consolidate unspent balances parked in more than 1.5 million bank accounts of implementing agencies across India into 4,500 bank accounts of the SNA, bringing greater transparency, which has saved the government over ₹11,000 crore since FY2023. Most large flagship schemes are already routed through this system; however, many small schemes are yet to be the schemes yet to be included on SNA are: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban 2.0), National Urban Livelihood Mission, SMART-PDS, Mission VATSALYA, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission, Ayush Mission, Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, National Mission for a Green India, National Rural Health Mission, irrigation census, E-bus seva, Vibrant Villages Programme, National Mission on Natural Farming, and National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM).On May 29, Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, in his review meeting of the centrally sponsored schemes, underscored the point once again, officials said. "There was a clear instruction from the Cabinet Secretary (T.V. Somanathan) that all central funds must flow via CSS from April 1, 2026, for greater accountability and transparency of fund usage," a senior official told budget for FY2026 contained a new statement that revealed fund balances under SNA accounts with states and UTs regarding select CSS of ₹500 crore and above. "Now this has to be expanded to all small and large schemes we were able to track, and nudge the agencies to utilize the fund," the official said. The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is already working with the department and states for a smooth transition.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
States/UTs to borrow Rs 2.86 lakh crore in Jul-Sep quarter: RBI
New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): States and Union Territories combined will raise about Rs 2.86 lakh crore from markets in the quarter July-September 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has indicated. The expected market borrowing plans have been decided upon by the RBI after consulting with the State Governments/Union Territories. On July 1, Rs 18,100 crore is proposed to be borrowed - Andhra Pradesh (Rs 2,000 crore), Assam (Rs 900 crore), Gujarat (Rs 1,000 crore), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 1,200 crore), Kerala (Rs 2,000 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 6,000 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 500 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 2,000 crore), Telangana (Rs 1,500 crore), and West Bengal (Rs 1,000 crore). Out of the gross market borrowing of Rs 14.82 lakh crore budgeted for 2025-26, Rs 8.00 lakh crore (54.0 per cent) is planned to be borrowed in the first half of the fiscal, through issuance of dated securities. The gross market borrowing of Rs 8.00 lakh crore shall be completed through 26 weekly auctions, a Ministry of Finance statement had indicated way back in March. The market borrowing will be spread over 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, 40 and 50-year securities. The share of borrowing (including SGrBs) under different maturities will be: 3-year (5.3%), 5-year (11.3%), 7-year (8.2%), 10-year (26.2%), 15-year (14.0%), 30-year (10.5%), 40-year (14.0%) and 50-year (10.5%), the March finance ministry statement noted. Presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had pegged the 2025-26 fiscal deficit target at 4.4 per cent of GDP for the financial year 2025-26, versus the revised 4.8 per cent in 2024-25. The government intends to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the financial year 2025-26. The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed the fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings that the government may need. As announced in the Union budget on February 1, the government plans to borrow Rs 15.4 lakh crore from the market during FY 2025-26. The government aims to use its market borrowings for capital expenditure as it is largely non-inflationary. (ANI)
Mint
5 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
CJI Gavai bats in favour of Article 370 abrogation, quotes Ambedkar's ‘one nation, one Constitution' stance
Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Saturday said Dr BR Ambedkar envisioned one Constitution for the country to keep it united and never favoured the idea of a separate constitution for a state. CJI Gavai was speaking at the inauguration of the Constitution Preamble in Nagpur, where he said that the Supreme Court drew inspiration from Ambedkar's vision of a united India under a single Constitution while upholding the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, news agency PTI reported. Justice Gavai was part of a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, that unanimously upheld the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370. "When Article 370 was challenged, it came before us, and when the hearing was underway, I recalled Dr Babasaheb's words that one Constitution is suited for a country... If we want to keep the country united, we need only one Constitution," he said, while addressing the gathering in Marathi. On August 5, 2019, the Centre decided to strip Jammu and Kashmir of special status and divide it into two Union Territories. According to the PTI report, Justice Gavai said Dr Ambedkar had been criticised, saying the Constitution provides for too much federalism, and in times of war, the country may not remain united. However, he had responded, saying the Constitution would suit all the challenges and keep the nation united, the CJI said. "See the situation in the neighbouring countries, be it Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Whenever our country faces challenges, it has remained united," Justice Gavai said. National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah said on Saturday that their party's struggle is not focused on restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but rather on reclaiming the constitutional guarantees that were in place before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. "My party can go to court, but I will only remind that our fight is not for statehood, our fight is for more than that. It is for those constitutional guarantees that were snatched from us in 2019," Ruhullah told reporters in Srinagar. In response to NC chief Farooq Abdullah's comments about moving Supreme Court if the restoration of statehood is inordinately delayed, Ruhullah emphasised, "We should not forget our fight." According to the PTI report, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar reiterated that the party's goal is to reverse the Centre's decisions to abrogate Article 370 and reorganise the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. "The BJP has said in its manifesto as well as in the Parliament that statehood will be restored. The allied teams of the BJP (in J&K) also said they will fight for the statehood, but NC's fight is not for statehood," Ruhullah said.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Row in Bihar over EC push for new rolls as Tejashwi targets Centre; NDA hits back
Amid the Opposition's mounting concerns over the Election Commission (EC)'s 'special intensive revision (SIR)' of the electoral rolls in Bihar just months ahead of the state Assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has questioned the intent and timing of the exercise, asking the need for such a sweeping revision barely a year after the use of the same voter list in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 'The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were conducted on the basis of this very voter list, in which the public voted and a government was formed. Now, if this same list was wrong, does it mean the assistant electoral officers appointed at that time prepared a faulty list? Does this not raise questions on the legitimacy of the government formed on the basis of that list?' asked Tejashwi, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Bihar Assembly. As per the EC's directions, each existing elector will have to submit an individual enumeration form. Those added to the rolls after January 1, 2003 – the year of the last intensive revision – will additionally have to provide the proof of their citizenship. Providing the rationale for its order, the EC said that 'during the last 20 years, significant change in electoral roll has taken place due to additions and deletions on a large scale', and 'rapid urbanisation and frequent migration of population from one place to another… have become a regular trend'. This 'special intensive revision' will eventually cover all states and Union Territories (UTs), the EC said. Electors whose enumeration forms are not received by July 25 will be deleted from the roll. Deletions can be contested from August 1 to September 1. While the EC is yet to provide an exact number of electors who will be required to furnish proof of citizenship, about 3 crore electors have been added to electoral rolls in Bihar since 2003. Tejashwi said the sudden move to scrap the existing voter rolls and require all citizens to apply afresh raises questions on the legitimacy of the elections that saw the BJP-led NDA come to power at the Centre. The LoP described the timing and scale of the revision as 'deeply suspicious and worrying', and alleged that the exercise is being undertaken at the behest of the Centre with the BJP and its ally, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), 'panicking' ahead of the Assembly polls. Tejashwi also questioned the feasibility of the exercise, claiming that the 'last such revision took nearly two years', while the current process is being attempted in a matter of weeks during the peak monsoon season, when 73% of Bihar is prone to floods. 'Should government employees and citizens be saving lives from floods or collecting documents for the Election Commission?' he said. The RJD leader further alleged that the new process 'disproportionately' targets the poor, Dalits, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), minorities, and young voters, many of whom, he added, lack the documents now required for inclusion in the fresh rolls. Yadav claimed that even Aadhaar and MGNREGA identity cards were not being accepted as valid proof amid the current exercise to link Aadhaar with the voter list to prevent duplication. Apart from documents such as passport, birth certificate, Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate, an extract of one's parents' names in Bihar's electoral roll of Bihar as of January 1, 2003 'will be considered as a sufficient document in itself', the EC said. According to Tejashwi, nearly 4.8 crore voters under the age of 40 (those who registered to vote after 2003) will now be required to prove their citizenship or that of their parents within a one-month window. 'Of these, about 4% – aged 39 to 40 (born before July 1, 1987) – will have to provide their own citizenship documents. Around 85% – voters aged 20 to 38 (those born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004) – will be required to present at least one parent's citizenship documents, while 11% – aged 18 to 20 – will have to submit citizenship documents for both parents,' he said. Tejashwi cited government data showing that only a small fraction of the population possesses the documents now demanded by the EC. 'According to the Government of India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3, only 2.8% of children born between 2001 and 2005 had a birth certificate. It is clear that among those born between 1965 and 1985, this number would be negligible… According to NFHS-2, only 10% to 13% of men aged 40 to 60 have completed high school… According to the India Human Development Survey (2011–12), about 20% of SCs and about 25% of OBCs possess a caste certificate. Among upper castes, this proportion is even lower, so on average, less than 20% of families have this certificate,' he said. The LoP also pointed out that although the EC has listed 11 documents as valid for voter registration, only three – birth certificate, matriculation certificate, and caste certificate – were 'relatively common'. Tejashwi warned that the revision could disenfranchise a large number of electors, particularly among the most vulnerable groups, and called on the EC to reconsider the move. 'Is this democracy, where long-time voters are forced to run from pillar to post to prove their identity?' he asked. In Bihar, the RJD leads the Opposition Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), which also comprises the Congress and the Left parties. However, state JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told The Indian Express, 'This is routine work for the EC, and Opposition parties making political statements about it is very irresponsible… The revision of the electoral roll is beneficial for everyone, it's an opportunity to include more people in the democratic process.' State BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said, 'The EC has demonstrated its capability by successfully conducting elections in such a vast country, setting a global example for large-scale democratic processes… However, for those parties that have so far depended on fake voters and bogus voting, this is a cause for concern. In Bihar, the EC has already put a stop to incidents of booth capturing, and now it is working to clamp down on bogus voting. So, raising questions about the Election Commission's credibility is completely unwarranted.'
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Centre to hold meeting of state, UT cooperation ministers on June 30
The meeting will serve as a platform to review progress, exchange views and chart the way forward to achieve the collective goal of strengthening the cooperative sector in the country Press Trust of India New Delhi The Centre will hold a meeting of Cooperation Ministers of all states and Union Territories on June 30 to discuss ways to strengthen the cooperative sector in the country. The 'Manthan Baithak' at Bharat Mandapam here will be chaired by Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah. The meeting would discuss all major initiatives of the government, including establishment of 2 lakh new Multi-purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperative societies to strengthen last-mile rural service delivery. A key highlight will be the deliberation on the world's largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector. The meeting will serve as a platform to review progress, exchange views and chart the way forward to achieve the collective goal of strengthening the cooperative sector in the country, an official statement said. It aims to foster a shared understanding and develop a coordinated endeavour to advance the Prime Minister's vision of 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' through a mutual convergence. The role of states in the activities of three new National Multi-state Cooperative Societies, National Cooperative Export Ltd (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Ltd (BBSSL), will also be reviewed. Discussions will extend to the White Revolution 2.0 and embedding circularity and sustainability in India's dairy sector, alongside procurement support price for pulse and maize farmers under the Atmanirbharta Abhiyan, the statement said. Key digital transformative initiatives such as PACS computerization, and the computerization of Registrar Cooperative Society (RCS) offices of states/UTs will be reviewed, with a special focus on the National Cooperative Database and its utility for policy planning. The meeting will witness a discussion on human resource development, training, and capacity building in the cooperative sector in light of the establishment of Tribhuvan Sahkari University. Steps taken by the central government for the financial strengthening of the sector will also be discussed, such as the redressal of issues related to cooperative banks, the operationalization of Shared Services Entity (SSE) for State Cooperative Banks, District Central Cooperative Banks and the umbrella organization for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs). The event will witness participation of Cooperation Ministers and Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of Cooperation Departments of states/UTs.
