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    Health, highways, irrigation likely to top FM Arun Jaitley's Budget agenda

    Synopsis

    The government appears keen to signal its intent to deepen growth by making significant commitments to social and physical infrastructure.

    TNN
    NEW DELHI: A mega universal health insurance plan, increased resources for irrigation and the road sector are likely to be the important themes of the 2016-17 budget which will steer clear of any big bang populist measures.

    Sources familiar with budget discussions said the government is keen to focus on social sectors that cover key political constituencies like farmers and those lacking health cover in its third budget and use the exercise to widen the social security net.

    The government appears keen to signal its intent to deepen growth by making significant commitments to social and physical infrastructure helping it argue that it has not lost sight of the vulnerable sections. The drought and farm distress seem the obvious spur for a special focus on irrigation.

    While the contours of the universal insurance plan are still being worked out, sources said the focus is on relieving some of the stress due to rising health costs particularly for the poor. The plan is being firmed up and specifics are likely to be worked out closer to the budget.
    Encouraged by an acceleration in road projects, the government sees this as a highly visible marker of success that can drive growth and directly connect with people's livelihoods. For now, the plan is to provide health cover with a modest premium payment of Rs 700 per year and the cap on the cover is likely to be Rs 50,000.

    There is also discussion on setting up a separate entity to administer the health insurance scheme while some officials are of the opinion that state-run insurance companies are capable of handling the rollout.

    Currently, there are several health insurance schemes for different segments of population like the Rashtiya Swasthiya Bima Yojana, Employment State Insurance Scheme, Central Government Health Scheme, Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Janashree Bima Yojana and the Universal Health Insurance scheme.

    The government has been working to provide rickshaw pullers, autorickshaw drivers, anganwadi and Asha workers and other such economically vulnerable groups complete medical care (from primary to tertiary) under the umbrella of employees' state insurance (ESI) scheme.

    The view within the government is that the scope of these programmes are limited and with rising medical costs, a large section of the population is left behind in the race for proper medical care.

    The NDA government has been trying to step up social security. Encouraged by the success of the financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, finance minister Arun Jaitley proposed to create a universal social security system for all Indians, particularly the poor and the under-privileged in the 2015-16 budget.

    "Whether it will be Aadhar linked or not is still being worked out," said a source, adding that the plan was being fine tuned with inputs from all stakeholders.

    Another key focus area would be the farm sector. Jaitley has already said the sector will see higher allocations in the budget. The roads and highways sector will also receive special attention given the sharp turnaround of the sector and the government's belief that faster expansion of the road network will help revive demand and overall growth.

    Officials said the government is keen to avoid any populist trap in the budget. Jaitley has already made it clear that the budget will not be populist. "We still have two more years to be populist. This year the focus will be on the social sectors," a source said.



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    ( Originally published on Feb 07, 2016 )
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