Govt to study impact of reforms on poor

hyderabad: the andhra pradesh government, which is in the forefront of implementing reforms in the country, now wants to study its impact on the poor and the socially disadvantaged sections. in a bid to identify and assess the impact and help design measures to empower the poor to benefit from the reform process, a 'poverty and social analysis and monitoring unit' will be set up.according to a go issued on feb. 1, 2002, the ap state poverty eradication mission has been entrusted with the responsibility of strengthening poverty and social monitoring analysis. the unit will provide policy guidance and inputs to plan the budgetary process and undertake its analysis to monitor budgetary commitments and actual expenditure incurred on social development. the unit will also develop appropriate poverty reduction policy framework and programme architecture for the government. the new unit will have overall responsibility for poverty and social monitoring in terms of identifying core poverty indicators, designing scientific methodology for assessing rural and urban poverty by social and occupational groups as well as by gender. the unit will conduct studies, build capacities of universities and institutions and promote research in poverty related-studies, including poverty monitoring and also publish the studies. workshops, seminars and training classes would be held to disseminate the findings and recommendations of the mission among people's representatives, civil society and academia. the poverty and social analysis and monitoring unit will function under a coordination committee consisting of a chairperson, vicechairperson of the poverty eradication mission and special chief secretary (rd), principal secretary (ma &ud), planning secretary, the centre for economic and social studies (cess) director and the members of the poverty eradication mission will be members. the committee will determine the functioning of the unit and approve annual works and finance plan and make appointments of the unit and receive and make grants and payments on behalf of the unit. it will be located at the cess.