I&B Ministry
Parliamentary Committee: I&B allocations and Plan Execution Strategy
NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Committee has said it is ‘constrained’ that the quantum allocation for the Information and Broadcasting ministry under the Plan segment so far in the 12th Plan period is insufficient to fulfil the envisaged objectives and has recommended a high level review for requisite enhancement of Plan fund allocation in the ensuing Plan period.
This was particularly so considering the wide mandate of this ministry to reach out to the billion plus population of the country, the Standing Committee for Information Technology which examines issues relating to I&B said.
A scrutiny of trend of utilization of Plan funds during the four years of the 12th Plan Period (2012-13 to 2015-16) indicates that a sum of Rs 2,802.72 crore was spent against the Budget Estimate (BE) allocation of Rs 3,729.53 crore in the corresponding period.
When compared to the Revised Estimate (RE) allocation which was of the order of Rs 2,918 crore for these years, it depicts 96 percent utilization.
The Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) approved for the ministry in the 12th Five Year Plan was Rs 7,583 crore, accounting for 39 percent increase over the 11th Plan allocation.
For the year 2016-17, the Committee said the ministry should take up the matter with the Finance ministry for enhancement of Plan funding at the RE stage. Most importantly, the ministry should also take steps to strengthen its Plan execution strategy so that the fund allocated at the BE stage in the current fiscal is optimally utilized.
The Committee which comprises members of both Houses of Parliament wanted to be apprised of the steps taken by the ministry for overall increase in the allocation of funds and measures taken to scale up financial performance in the year 2016-17.
A close look at the financial performance of the ministry for the year 2015-16 indicated that they were able to spend Rs 734.39 crore on Plan schemes against an outlay of Rs 914.53 crore at the BE Stage.
The reasons for shortfall in utilization of funds during 2015-16 had been broadly attributed to reduction of outlay at the RE stage by the Finance ministry, long processes for procurement of goods and services for Prasar Bharati, and delay in approval of the new schemes for the 12th Five Year Plan period under the sectors particularly in Film and Broadcasting.
The Committee noted that the ministry stated that the low expenditure of Prasar Bharati had poorly reflected on the ministry’s overall expenditure for the year 2015-16. An outlay of Rs 800 crore has been made for financing the Plan schemes of the ministry for the year 2016-17, which is Rs 114.53 crore lesser than the BE allocation made in the year 2015-16. According to the ministry, the overall reduction in allocation of funds would impact financing of the planned schemes.
The Committee which comprises members of both houses of parliament observed that the annual Plan expenditure of the ministry so far during the 12th Plan period, on an average, has been a little over Rs 700 crore.
In its statement, the ministry told the Committee that the GRB for the 11th Plan stood at Rs 5,439 crore for financing the Plan schemes of the ministry. The GBS for the 12th Five Year Plan period was increased by over 39 percent amounting to Rs 7,583 crore during the 12th Plan period. Besides, a provision of Rs 1,000 crore had been kept for Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) by Prasar Bharati for financing the new content development schemes of Prasar Bharati during the 12th Five Year Plan.
The ministry said the increased GBS helped it in achieving various goals and objectives including completion of the New Media Centre and Soochna Bhavan, successfully commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema, launching of Social Media Platform to enable government’s presence and to have direct interface with target audience, increased monitoring capacity of TV channels by the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre, visible increase in community Radio stations, successful completion of Phases I, II, III (substantially) of Cable TV Digitization and launching and operationalization of the Kisan Channel.
The utilization trend of funds during the four years of the 12th Plan (Rs in crores) is:
|
YEAR |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
Total |
|
BE |
905.00 |
905.00 |
1005.00 |
914.53 |
3729.53 |
|
RE |
676.00 |
740.00 |
752.00 |
750.00 |
2918 |
|
Expenditure |
612.10 |
715.22 |
740.78 |
734.39 |
2802.74 |
|
percent Exp w.r.t RE |
91 |
97 |
99 |
98 |
96 (2012-13 to 2015-16) |
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
