Amidst the persistent uncertainty about the future course of the Covid-19 pandemic, many selfless individuals and organisations across the country have been working relentlessly to mitigate the unequal adverse impacts of this crisis. We, at CBGA, salute them and would like to acknowledge that we owe our continued journey to this country's civil society. 


We have relaunched 'Budget Track', as a quarterly Newsletter, to keep you abreast of the recent contributions by CBGA to the discourse on policies and fiscal governance and share with you snippets from some of our ongoing work. We welcome you to read the inaugural edition!


Subrat Das
Executive Director, CBGA














Interface 

Our podcasts, videos, and events 



Dialogues on Global Financial Transparency

Watch the first interview from a series which brings experts for in-depth discussions on tax justice and global financial transparency. In this interview, we speak to Irene Ovonji-Odida, member of the FACTI panel, also a lawyer and a women's rights activist. 
Dialogues on Global Financial Transparency and Tax Justice | Episode 1 (Interview with Ms. Odida)

Global Minimum Corporate Tax: Looking Beyond the Surface

Recent talks on a global minimum corporate tax proposal have drawn attention with questions around its implications for developing countries. CBGA hosted a Webinar with leading experts, civil society leaders, and tax equity advocates from the global south to unpack this debate. 

The Budget Dialogue: A Discussion on Union Budget 2021-22

The Union Budget 2021-22 was to define the country's fiscal policy response to the pandemic and chart the trajectories of revival in socio-economic development. We hosted a Panel Discussion with eminent economists, policy experts, and social activists, looking at its many dimensions and layers. Also read our analysis of the Union Budget 2021-22.



Videos on the Data Portal 
Videos - CBGA India

The short tutorial video, Budget Basics, explains the budget process of the country in a non-technical manner. 
Budget Basics | Open Budgets India

The video on Open Budgets India portal shows how to navigate the portal and explore data and analytics on public finance.

Unpacking State Budgets through Interactive Visualisations

Delve into State Budgets in India through these simple visualisations; they compare some of the broad trends across State Budgets in the most recent years. 
Data Visualisations | CBGA India
Data Visualisations | CBGA India
Data Visualisations | CBGA India

In-focus

Policy briefs, papers and other outputs from our research

Towards a People’s Recovery - Tracking Fiscal and Social Protection Responses to Covid-19 in the Global South

This joint report by the Financial Transparency Coalition, CBGA, CPD, Christian Aid, ICEFI, SPII and Tax Justice Network Africa tracks fiscal and social protection responses of nine countries in the Global South, through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mapping Budget Priorities for the Health Sector of Select States in India

This note addresses a basic but very important question at the current juncture: which States have increased the 'priority' for the Health sector in their State Budgets for 2020-21 (in Revised Estimates) and 2021-22 (in Budget Estimates) and which ones have not. 

Outcome Budgeting in India: The efforts being made at the Union and State levels

This discussion paper provides an overview of Outcome Budgeting practices being followed by the Union and State Governments. It also flags  some of the ways in which which this Public Finance Management reform can be improved in the coming years. 

Impact of COVID-19 on Child Nutrition in India: What are the Budgetary Implications?

This policy brief  highlights a number of short-term and long term measures for improving public sector provisioning for child nutrition in the country, in the context of the Covid - 19 pandemic which has aggravated the challenges on this front.

Mapping Institutions and Fund Flow Architecture of
Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram  (RKSK) up to  the district level 

These policy briefs unpack the planning and fund flow processes under Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram. They illustrate the institutional architecture, budgeting, and the service delivery mechanisms of the scheme with reference to two specific districts viz. Sitapur and Chittoor. 

Opinions and Blogs

Our team members have written opinion pieces on a range of topics. Protiva Kundu highlighted the problems of exclusion in digital delivery of school education, Shruti Ambast analysed the reasons underlying the low compensation for ASHA workers, Anjana Rajagopalan and Nilachala Acharya examined the status of the Swadhar Greh scheme for women in distress, and Madhav Ramachandran and Sarah Farooqui commented on some of the recent developments on the international taxation front.
Read all our recent opinion pieces and commentaries here.

In-progress

Snippets from some of our ongoing work on policies and fiscal governance

Creating a wider understanding about financial performance of the schemes

The Schemes Dashboard on the Open Budgets India (OBI) portal presents searchable databases for a large number of development schemes. It offers relevant financial data and analytics for 26 central schemes, covering a host of sectors. 


Understanding the challenges and opportunities for 'greening' the economic recovery of States  

CBGA has developed an in-depth understanding of the public climate financing framework at the level of State Governments and brought out a series of papers titled “Climate Mitigation Financing Framework in Select States”. We are now building upon this body of knowledge and analysis to unpack some of the challenges and opportunities for 'greening' the economic recovery of States in the wake of the pandemic.


Providing technical support for Gender Responsive Budgeting

CBGA, in its capacity as a member of the Broad-based Committee on Gender Analysis and Budgeting, has provided technical support to the Ministry of Women and Child Development towards deepening of Gender Responsive Budgeting at the Union Government level. We have also facilitated training sessions on GRB for government officials, CSOs and researchers from different States. We have developed a GRB Training Resource which provides operational guidance for improving the effectiveness of the Gender Budget Statement as a tool for advancing GRB.

Influence

Efforts by our partner organisations in India and other countries that have left a lasting impression

Responding to the challenges confronting  migrant labourers  

Samarthan- Centre for Development Support engaged migrant labourers and voluntary organizations in a dialogue with the Labour Department of Chhattisgarh towards drafting a proposal for Chhattisgarh Inter-State Migration Policy. The policy aims to simplify the process of labour registration and benefits, along  with a provision for mapping and

linkage of labourers arriving in Chhattisgarh, and departing to other States. Labour Resource Centres in nine districts were relied upon to strengthen this effort. Moreover, capacity building and handholding support has been provided to the representatives of several Gram Panchayats in the State towards sensitising the community with regard to social security benefits.

Pre-Budget Consultations: a step towards people-centred budgeting in Odisha

The Pre-Budget Consultations organised by Odisha Budget and Accountability Centre (OBAC), a unit of the Centre for Youth and Social Development, have served over the last decade as a platform where issues and priorities of the marginalised sections of the State's population are shared directly with the architects of the State Budget of Odisha. Since its launch in 2007, OBAC's Pre-Budget Consultation has consistently highlighted the importance of budgetary provisions for the social sectors and social protection schemes through the voices of  grassroots organisations and social activists. This process of advocacy with the State's Finance Department has been complemented by in-depth analysis of State Budget priorities, expenditure tracking studies, and training and capacity building on budgets.

Latindadd’s Declaration of the Latin America  and Caribbean Tax Justice Movements

As a response to the global minimum corporate tax proposal, Latindadd published a declaration, highlighting perspectives from the global south. The declaration included a call for the construction of a truly inclusive,and democratic international tax reform, where the interests of Latin America and countries of the Global South are taken into account. 

Please feel free to contact us:

Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability
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Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi - 110029
Phone: +91 11 49 200 400 / 401 / 402
Website: www.cbgaindia.org
Email id: info@cbgaindia.org

Explore the open data portal on budgets in India at: https://openbudgetsindia.org.

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