ISLAMABAD: The spike in social spending in recent years in India has been driven by State governments, despite cuts in Central transfers, says an Indian media report.
The report published by The Hindu Business Line challenges the perception that the Narendra Modi government’s political success stems from extensive delivery of social services.
The report suggests that, as with many other aspects of the regime, the success may instead reflect effective public relations and perception management.
The report has sourced data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s publications, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy and Handbook of Statistics on Indian States.
Share of social spending
According to the report, data shows that the share of social spending in the total budgetary outlays of the central government declined from 2014-15, the first year of the Modi government, and largely remained lower until the Covid-19 pandemic year of 2021-22.
The average share of social spending in total expenditure dropped from 8.5% under the previous UPA government to as low as 5.3% during the 11 years under Modi.
In contrast, State governments consistently demonstrated a higher tendency to spend on social sectors throughout this period.
The report notes that state-level social spending exceeded that of the central government by more than four times under the UPA and more than eight times under the Modi government.
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