The Hindu Business Line : Chidambaram asks States to come up with Outcome Budgets

THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, today urged the State Governments to follow the example of the Centre and come out with their own versions of `Outcome Budget'.

"It (Outcome Budget) should not only be a Central Government exercise, it should also become an exercise of the States," Mr Chidambaram said at a press conference called to explain the salient features of the Outcome Budget 2005-06.

As many as 44 Union Ministries and 61 departments have been covered in the Outcome Budget for 2005-06. The Outcome Budget has, however, not covered nine Ministries and departments, including the Department of Atomic Energy, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

An Outcome Budget is an exercise of converting the financial outlays into physical outcomes, with fixed quarterly measurable and monitorable target, to improve the quality of implementation of developmental programmes.

The Finance Minister also made it clear that this was an "Outcome Budget for the year that was going to be". Mr Chidambaram said that the Outcome Budget is a pre-expenditure instrument and that the ministries and departments would now look at expenditure through the prism of outcomes.

He also said that the Government would strive to present the Outcome Budget for the next year before the conclusion of the Budget session, latest by May 10.

"You will initially have two documents - the Union Budget presented on February 28 and the Outcome Budget sometime in May. The performance budget of the Ministries would come up in April next year. Read together, you will have a much better picture of what has been done by the Government or Ministry in the year that has gone by," Mr Chidambaram said.

While the Outcome Budget has essentially covered Plan programmes, Mr Chidambaram said that it is the intention of the Government to cover non-Plan expenditure also in the coming years.

Asked whether the Outcome Budget for the next year would cover the Defence Ministry, Mr Chidambaram said, "I don't know. There are difficulties in having measurable, monitorable outcomes. We will look at it. We are putting on our thinking caps. You are most welcome to put on your thinking caps and tell us how to go about it."

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