Even though some informed monitors of the economy maintain that the infirmity of Indian education is inefficient spending rather than adequacy of education outlays, your editors have steadfastly maintained that the two prescriptions are not mutually exclusive.

We believe greater expenditure on infrastructure, landscaping, buildings, classrooms, teacher training and development, sports facilities, and especially libraries, laboratories and lavatories of government primaries is necessary to attract and retain children from low-income households in government schools.  Therefore in 2008, we persuaded Dr. A.S. Seetharamu to draw up a budget to equip government primaries in need with basic lib-lab-lav (libraries, laboratories and lavatories). Last year Prof. Seetharamu estimated that a sum of Rs.1.10 lakh crore would be required to attain this objective.

Your editors believe that within the substantial Rs.19.78 lakh crore Union budget 2016-17, and by trimming unmerited middle class subsidies, there are substantial opportunities for savings in the budgeted amounts on the expenditure side and for additional resource mobilisation on the revenue/receipts side for redeployment and funding the lib-lab-lav programme and early childhood care and education (ICDS’ anganwadis programme). We believe that through savings in budgeted expenditure and modest, painless additional resource mobilisation initiatives, a substantial sum aggregating Rs.3.60 lakh crore (Rs.360,000 crore) can be raised by the Centre for developing the nation’s human capital. The calculus is set out below.