Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF)

Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF)

Part of: Mains GS-II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.

Context: Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) was implementing Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) Programme (District component) during the period 2006-07 to 2014-15. 

• It provided financial resources for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows into identified districts to bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development requirements. 
• BRGF Programme has been delinked from the budgetary support of the Central Government since 2015-16 consequent upon the implementation of the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission.
• Earlier the share of States in the net proceeds of the Union taxes was significantly enhanced from 32% to 42% that allowed the States with greater autonomy for financing and designing the developmental schemes, especially for the backward regions.

Enters Aspirational Districts Programme

• Implemented by: NITI Aayog
• Aim: Rapid transformation of 112 Aspirational Districts which shows relatively less progress in key social and economic indicators such as Health and Nutrition, School Education and Basic Infrastructure, Agriculture etc. 
• The broad strategy of the Aspirational Districts Programme rests on the 3 Cs 
  • Convergence (between Central and State Schemes)
  • Collaboration (between Centre, State, District Administration, Development Partners and Citizens)
  • Competition (between Districts)

• Every month, districts are ranked on the basis of progress made on the key performance indicators mentioned above, and this instills them with a sense of competition which results in rapid improvement.

News Source: PIB