Centre ready to release funds if states implement central schemes in letter and spirit: Pradhan
New Delhi (PTI): Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday urged the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to implement central schemes in letter and spirit and not put conditions on their implementation to help release funds to them.
Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said Kerala and Tamil Nadu had not been implementing some central schemes and that is why funds to them have been held up.
He even made a mention of West Bengal, which he alleged, has used funds under the scheme for their party politics instead.
He said that Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, National Education Policy and PM-Shree scheme are all federal government policies implemented with the cooperation of states.
At one point of time, the Kerala government agreed to sign agreement on PM-Shree scheme, but later retracted, he claimed.
He said the same about Tamil Nadu, which had agreed to implement the PM-Shree scheme, but later went back on its words.
"It is their problem, they are facing dilemma due to their internal contradictions in the alliance and that is why they are not implementing PM Shree.
"Two other states have not agreed to implement PM-Shree scheme and that include Tamil Nadu. Subsequent discussion are held with Tamil Nadu. I am open and ready to cooperate with any state who will come to union government," he said.
"Whether it is Tamil Nadu, Kerala or West Bengal, the Centre is ready to release funds," the minister said, adding that last week, the Supreme Court had given an opinion on a PIL why Tamil Nadu is not implementing central schools and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, which was not envisaged by BJP.
"Tamil Nadu cannot put conditions. This is Tamil Nadu children's money and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to giving that money to respective states, also to Tamil Nadu. But, you have to implement central schemes in letter and spirit," Pradhan said.
He said other Opposition-ruled states like Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana are getting funds appropriately.
In Kerala, he said, the entitlement of the state for this year is around Rs 452 crore.
"We are ready to release all the money subject to the conditions of implementation of National Education Policy, which they have agreed to implement. I again appeal to their government on what is the compulsion. They may have internal compulsions and internal conflict between your alliance, but why you are putting that burden on the people of Kerala. Sort it out yourself and come take your money," the minister said.
Earlier, John Brittas (CPI-M) said the cardinal objective of this House is to protect federalism and asked that why all of a sudden, the minister has taken a stand that unless the states sign PM-Shree, they would not release funds for states in Samagra Shiksha.
"Have you ever seen such a haphazard stand taken by any government. He pointed out to the non-sanction of funds for Kerala under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
"Is it part of arm-twisting or politically motivated policy and stand of the Centre by denying release of funds. Is it part of your political scheme?," Brittas questioned, urging the government to delink PM-Shree with Samagra Shiksha scheme as it should not be linked to any other scheme launched later.
Responding to Brittas, Pradhan said he has tried to "mislead the House with his eloquent speaking style".
"This is not a partisan policy of union government," he said quoting data related to allocation of funds to other non-BJP states under the scheme.
In his written reply, Pradhan said, "The Department of School Education & Literacy is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in partnership with all the States and UTs.
"Financial assistance is provided to all States and UTs for various components for implementation of the interventions under Samagra Shiksha as per norms. Accordingly, the annual plans under Samagra Shiksha are prepared by States and UTs based on their requirements and priority and this is reflected in their respective Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B)."
These plans are then appraised and approved/estimated by Project Approval Board (PAB) in consultation with the States and UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme.
"The release of Central share depends on the submission of the utilisation certificates, audit reports in respect of funds released earlier, physical and financial progress reports, State contributions and compliance with the scheme norms," he said, providing a list of state-wise details of Central Share approved by the Project Approval Board and the Central Share released under Samagra Shiksha for the last three years.
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India, US trade team to start three-day talks from Dec 10: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): India and the United States will commence three-day talks on the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement here from December 10, sources said.
The visit is crucial as India and the US are working to finalise the first tranche of the pact.
"The three-day talks will start on December 10. It will conclude on December 12, and it is not a formal round of talks," said one of the sources.
The US team will be led by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer.
This visit of the US officials marks their second trip since the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to the purchase of Russian crude oil.
On September 16, the US officials last visited India.
On September 22, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also led an official delegation to the US for trade talks. Goyal had also visited Washington in May.
While the USA's chief negotiator for the pact is Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, the Indian side is led by Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain.
The talks are also important as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has recently stated that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US this year itself, which should address the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters.
While noting that the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will take time, Agrawal has added that India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters.
India and the US are having two parallel negotiations -- one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal.
In February, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate an agreement.
It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025. So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, from the current USD 191 billion.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).
The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its total merchandise trade.
According to exporters, the agreement is important as India's merchandise exports to the US declined for the second consecutive month in October, falling by 8.58 per cent to USD 6.3 billion due to the hefty tariffs imposed by Washington.
