Quick Evaluation Study of the National Social Assistance Programme(NSAP) for the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India


The Ministry of Rural Development which is administering the rural poverty alleviation programmes throughout the country entrusted the Centre for Management Development to conduct a Quick Evaluation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). The study covered the goals as enunciated in the programme guidelines and its actual implementation at the field level. The unit of inquiry is the village and the beneficiary and related information of a few non-beneficiaries were also included under the study.

The scope of the study included the review of departmental records for the years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, allocation and utilisation of funds, evaluation of performance of the programme on the basis of target set and the achievements made in line with the national level norms, the nature of expenditure incurred etc., an assessment of the process of beneficiary selection, processing of applications, disbursement of benefits, mal practices if any, etc. The geographical area of coverage included all States and Union Territories of the Republic of India. The samples were selected from 129 districts covering 20 villages per district. CMD was the nodal agency for the study (coordinating the entire study including questionnaire preparation) and data was collected from different States through designated filed agencies. The study was completed and report submitted to MoRD.