Government feels that human development indicators should be taken into consideration to determine backwardness. Presenting the Budget 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram proposed to evolve new criteria such as per capita income and other HDIs and reflect them in future planning and devolution of funds. Terming the Backward Regions Grant Fund as a vital source of gap funding, the Finance Minister proposed to allocate Rs. 11,500 crores in 2013-14 as well as another sum of Rs. 1,000/- crores for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts. The Minister announced that the Fund will include a State Component for Bihar, the Bundelkhand region, West Bengal, the Kalahandi, Bolangir and Korapet (KBK) districts of Odisha and the 82 districts under the Integrated Action Plan.

DSM/VK/Ombeer/26

(Release ID :92713)

Criteria for determining backwardness to include human development indicators, guiding future planning and targeted fund allocation. Proposes that criteria for determining backwardness incorporate human development indicators, including per capita income and other HDIs, and that these metrics guide future planning and devolution of funds; reiterates the Backward Regions Grant Fund as the primary gap-funding mechanism and signals targeted allocations and a State Component for specified backward and affected regions.