A Budget-Beneficiary Analysis of the National Social Assistance Program in Respect to the Social Sector of India

Abstract

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) is a foundational social sector scheme of India. The growth of the tertiary or services sector in India is a unique example of pushing ahead traditional models of economic growth. Today 73 years later, the growth of the service sector has contributed 61.5% to the GDP. The paper aims to study the growth of the social sector schemes with a focus on budget allocation and beneficiary analysis under NSAP and to offer an assessment of the best and worst performed component of the NSAP. The research after presenting a detailed analysis of NSAP's performance in the social sector and the performance of individual schemes under NSAP, points out certain identified issues concerning NSAP showing a way forward.