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The interim budget announced more funds to empower panchayats and an initiative to revitalise the postal department for better delivery of social sector schemes
In order to empower panchayats and initiate transparent, efficient accountability systems, the government has proposed to expand the Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) by making suitable allocations. “PEAIS is an existing scheme under the central sector plan which has been recognised as a powerful instrument to incentivise states to devolve funds, functions and functionaries and set up an institutional framework for such devolution,” said External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the interim budget in the Lok Sabha on February 16, 2009. The minister also said that the government would provide all support to Project Arrow, a postal department initiative to revitalise its core operations and to provide technology-enabled services to the people. He said the project had been successfully implemented in 500 post offices across the country. Project Arrow is expected to lay the foundation for a better delivery mechanism for many social sector schemes such as the pension scheme and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Mukherjee added. Source: Indo Asian News Service, February 16, 2009
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