By IANS
New Delhi : The central government has made provisions for a safety net for the poor, and now it is up to the states to implement the scheme, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.
Speaking to the Lok Sabha television channel, Chidambaram said after presenting the national budget for 2008-09 that good governance would determine how well the welfare schemes would be implemented.
“If governance in some states is poor, those states will suffer. It is up to the people of those states to elect governments that provide better governance,” he said.
Reacting to potential criticism that the budget proposals to increase government spending would lead to inflation, he said: “The NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) is for giving some money into the hands of the very poor.
“The money for this can come from many sources, not necessarily through taxation. I don’t think this can lead to inflation. But if it does, we shall take steps.”