From PM Awas to Samagra Shiksha, Centre steps up vigil on schemes to spur utilisation, says Expenditure Secy

The 50-year interest-free loans to state governments have been extended for another year for FY26 with an outlay of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

The central government has stepped up vigil on utilisation of central sector schemes in a bid to ensure that the benefits reach the targeted demographics, Expenditure Secretary Manoj Govil said.

In an interview to Moneycontrol on February 2, Govil said, “The idea here is that this is a valuable thing to monitor that just because money has left the treasury, has gone to the bank account, it is not booked as expenditure. We are also looking to see if it has left the bank accounts as well. Has it gone to the final beneficiary? For Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the beneficiary is an individual. So, the money should go from the SNA (single nodal agency) account to the individual's account.”

Single Nodal Agency (SNA) is the nodal agency for implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) in India.

The secretary also referred to the recent changes made to the accounts under SNA Sparsh, a cash management initiative for Centrally Sponsored schemes introduced as an alternative fund flow mechanism for CSS funds through an integrated framework, including the e-kuber platform of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

“Now, we have a new reform called SNA Sparsh, which essentially means that the money is kept with RBI and is taken out of the state government and central government accounts only when it is finally spent, which means when the payment is made either to a beneficiary or to a vendor who is entitled to the payment. We have this issue that sometimes the money is given to the agencies, they keep it in the bank account. They don't spend it,” Govil explained.

Govil said that some schemes have excess funds lying with them.

Citing examples, he said that the funds available under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, including the state's eligible duties is at Rs 11,516 crore as on December 31, 2024, while the number is at Rs 14,715 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin.

“Large amount, you see large amount. Now obviously, the speed of implementation will pick up and after March 31, 2026, some of these amounts will go down,” Govil said.

The expenditure secretary also backed the move to put conditions on the capex-linked loans given to states.

“We have seen higher utilisation of these loans by states even when a higher amount is tied to reforms. So, it is a good thing to nudge the states towards certain reforms,” he said.

The 50-year interest-free loans to state governments have been extended for another year for FY26 with an outlay of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. However, due to tepid utilisation, the allocation for the current financial year was revised lower by Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 1.25 lakh crore.