Maharashtra has approved the creation of the Maharashtra Technical Assistance Cell, or Maha-TAC, under the Chief Minister’s Office to evaluate the effectiveness of 25 major government schemes and 25 key policies, including the Ladki Bahin scheme, farm loan waivers, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, MGNREGA, Jal Jeevan Mission and Ayushman Bharat.
The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The new unit will assess whether schemes are achieving their stated objectives, whether funds are being used properly and whether benefits are reaching the intended recipients on time and in full.
The move addresses a long-standing administrative challenge: governments spend thousands of crores every year on welfare and development schemes, but the state has lacked a regular mechanism to assess outcomes while programmes are still being implemented. Maha-TAC is expected to conduct parallel evaluations so that implementation gaps can be identified and corrected during the course of a scheme rather than only after its completion.
The cell will receive assistance from the Indian Institute of Management in Mumbai and the Centre for Research in Schemes and Policies, an organisation involving former civil servants, according to the report. A steering committee headed by the chief secretary and involving Maha-TAC will oversee the process. Thirteen committees will also be formed for policy-related work.
The proposed evaluation framework will include consultations with government departments, industry representatives, implementing agencies, local self-government institutions and beneficiaries. Maha-TAC will conduct independent quarterly parallel evaluations of 25 major schemes and submit progress reports to the Chief Minister’s Office.
The government has also identified several specific areas for review. These include checking whether public money reaches the correct person, whether it arrives within the required timeframe and whether the full benefit is delivered. The cell will examine whether expenditure is being made for its intended purpose or is creating unused assets and other forms of waste.
Another stated objective is to identify opportunities to combine different government schemes so that residents can receive greater benefits at lower cost. The state also plans to measure scheme outcomes using United Nations criteria. The cabinet’s approval establishes the institutional framework for the cell; the report did not specify when the first quarterly evaluations will be published or which scheme will be assessed first.
