Social Audit of Social Sector Schemes

What is the News?

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme called Information-Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Audit(I-MESA) in Financial Year 2021-22.

• Under this scheme, Social Audits are to be conducted for all schemes of the Department starting FY 2021-22. These social audits are done through Social Audit Units(SAU) of the States and National Institute for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

What is Social Audit?

• Social Audit is the examination and assessment of a programme/ scheme conducted with the active involvement of people and comparing official records with actual ground realities.
• A social Audit is a powerful tool for social transformation, community participation, and government accountability.

How is Social Audit different from Financial Audit? A social Audit is different from Financial Audit.

• Financial audits involve inspecting and assessing documents related to financial transactions in an organization to provide a true picture of its profits, losses, and financial stability.
• On the other hand, Social audits focus on the performance of a program in fulfilling its intended social objectives and ethical vision.

Origin of Social Audits in India:

• In India, social audits were begun by Tata Iron and Steel Company in 1979.
• Later, such an auditing mechanism gained significance after the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, which attempted to empower Panchayati Raj institutions and gram sabhas by arming them with such audits.
• Section 17 of the MGNREGA Act has mandated a Social audit of all works executed under the MGNREGA.

Benefits of Social Audit:

• It informs and educates people about their rights and entitlements.
• It provides a collective platform for people to ask queries, express their needs and grievances.
• Furthermore, it promotes people’s participation in all stages of the implementation of programmes.
• Also, it brings about transparency and accountability in government schemes.
• It strengthens decentralized governance.