The government may take a crucial decision on Saturday to withdraw from a score of small centrally-sponsored schemes and programmes whose annual budget is less than Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion).
The Finance Ministry has moved a proposal to that effect for consideration in the full-fledged Planning Commission meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to finalise the 12th Five-year Plan.
It has endorsed the recommendation of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary B K Chaturvedi that the Centre should concentrate only on bigger schemes and programmes which the states can not undertake with their limited resources.
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proposal is to transfer all small ongoing central schemes and programmes to the states, along with the money, as it would enable the Centre a better focus and control over the bigger schemes.