Expert Group on SECC submitted report

The expert group on the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) on 13 January 2017 submitted its report to the Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi.

The expert group was headed by former Finance Secretary Sumit Bose and included five mebers.

Members of the expert group are –

• Amarjeet Sinha

• Dr. Mahendra Dev

• Dr. Rinku Murgai

• Dr. Himanshu

• Manoranjan Kumar

Highlights of the report

• The expert group has concluded that the use of SECC data would enable the government to improve the efficacy of its interventions and will result in improved outcome.

• The Expert Group has observed that regular updation and verification of SECC data is prerequisite to eliminate the need to mount standalone SECC in the long run.

• However, the group stated that the regular updation will put additional burden on public resources.

• The SECC has the potential to move from being only a census-like socio-economic database to becoming the core of a functioning Social Registry Information System (SRIS).

• SRIS would result in several advantages in implementation of social sector schemes.

• The SECC data will result in

a) Streamlining programme administration

b) Reduction in duplication of benefit

c) Saving on time and costs for both programme applicants and services providers

d) Monitoring the living standards of beneficiaries over time

e) Better targeting of vulnerable and marginalized sections of the society

f) Expansion of the coverage of the programmes.

Background

• The  Union Government initiated the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) with the purpose of ranking households for receiving benefits under government programmes.

• The Ministry of Rural Development has decided to use SECC data for identification of beneficiaries and for generating priority list of beneficiaries under its programmes.

• In order to study the objective criteria for allocation of resources to States and identification and prioritization of beneficiaries under various programme using SECC data, theexpert group was constituted.