Finmin over-rules rural, calls for merger, budget cuts in 3 key units

The Department of Expenditure (DoE) has asked the ministry of rural development (MoRD), headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, to absorb two autonomous bodies under its charge while cutting the annual outlay of a third to just a fraction of its previous allotment in the Union Budget—despite requests from the ministry to reconsider, it has been learnt.

- Harikishan Sharma

According to records, the DoE has asked for the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA) and National Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (NRLPS) to be merged with MoRD by March-end, saying it "may be difficult" to release any more funds for the two autonomous bodies.

At the same time, the DoE has slashed the budget of MoRD's National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), which is based in Hyderabad and functions mainly as a think tank, to ₹1 lakh for the financial year 2025-26 from ₹73.68 crore in revised estimates of the 2024-25 fiscal and ₹75.69 crore in 2023-24.