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Elections in mind, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh is hurrying to meet his promise of garib ke pet me dana and all other people-centric announcements.
Singh is readying a complete dossier on the follow-up initiated by his ministry and is simultaneously keeping track of the action taken by his counterparts in other ministries and departments.
Of the 25 schemes and plans announced by him, action has been completed in half-a-dozen and some progress achieved in about a dozen.
The balance are still on the discussion stages.
While about 10 issues directly fall under his purview, the balance involve close co-ordination with other ministries and departments including agriculture, rural development, commerce, Planning Commission, sports and youth affairs, etc.
A universal community-based health scheme has already been announced by the general insurance companies to cover almost 5 million BPL families. LIC too has launched the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana.
The public sector banks will soon provide loans to the small scale sector at interest rates similar to that provided to the agricultural sector.
Singh has already announced that farmers will be charged only 9 per cent a year for loans up to Rs 50,000. Further, a pilot project to franchise agricultural credit through post offices is likely to be implemented by September this year.
While the Reserve Bank of India has advised private sector banks to open 25 per cent of their branches in rural and semi-urban areas, several banks have reverted to the apex bank that they were still conducting surveys to check the feasibility.
Singh has sought that RBI act on the issue more actively.
He simplified the procedure for the decentralised sector including weavers, processors, tailors, etc by exempting them from obtaining central excise registration, paying duty and maintaining records.
The allotment of PAN cards has been outsourced to UTI Investor Services Ltd and discussions are on with National Securities Depository Ltd to host the revenue department's tax information network.
The interest rate on small savings and the relief bonds have been reset in line with the market rates.
However, the ministry has been slow on spelling out additional incentives relating to basic infrastructure development like housing projects, slum upgradation and sewerage systems.
Surprisingly, other ministries like the youth affairs and sports, have moved at a good pace for developing infrastructure through direct funding of public-private joint initiatives.
The scheme with an outlay of about Rs 90 crore would be circulated for inviting proposals and action is completed before the next Budget.
For the textile sector too, Singh along with the textiles ministry has completed action on the welfare measures like a special insurance scheme for powerloom workers and a work shed scheme for them.
The technology upgradation fund too has been enlarged to cover modernisation of power looms. The commerce and the civil aviation ministries too have moved fast on the Budget announcements.
The finance ministry has decided to contribute Rs 250 crore to the price stabilisation fund for the benefit of tea, coffee and natural rubber growers in the first supplementary. The civil aviation ministry too is ready with a Cabinet note for metro airports upgradation.