The World Bank views that despite the past government's greater stress on social sectors and infrastructure investments, the pattern of public expenditure remains weak in terms of strategic prioritisation between and within sectors and among projects.

Moreover, technical efficiency in the use of budgetary resources is still to be achieved.

These observations were made in the Bank's Public Ex penditure Review (PER) report which is still in a draft form.

The Bank under took the PER age* tn November last year, after a break of six years, against the backdrop of expan sionary current expenditure which, it said, may reverse the macro-economic stability.

The years in review were 1990 to 1995. The last PER was done in 1989.

"The government lacks comprehensive and clear'pol-icy frameworks for its expenditure programmes in different sectors.’’ the report reads.

There is a lack of clear criteria for evaluation of proposed expenditure programmes and implementation is weak.’’

It also found that some public spending programmes limit rather than facilitate the scope for private sector and NGOs.

After analysing sector-wise spending, the PER concluded that there is a need for "functional re-pri'oritisation with further reduction in manufacturing. financial enterprises and agricultural oiTlnys on markets while focussing on areas with higher public goods content such as infrastructure, research and social sectors

It was further felt that infrastructure investments should be on high-return areas and that an appropriate bal-ance of ADP capital expenditure and current budget allocation has to be made to ensure sufficient resources for operation and maintenance of infrastructures.

More public resources could be pooled to be invested In social sectors by initiating private sector Investment in telecommunication, energy and manufacturing and by reducing spending on food subsidy programmes and the provision of agricultural inputs, the PER report maintained.

Reviewing the trends in the sectoral composition of ADP during FY 1990-95. it high lighted that infrastructure e nd energy together have continued to be the largest claimants of ADP resources with their share rising from 39 per cent in FY '90 to 45 per cent in FY "95. Transport has accounted for 49 per cent of this increase, and power 36 rer cent.

While ADP spending has expanded in the social sectors, with their combined spending rising annually by 34 per cent in nominal terms since FY "90. the share of the production sectors has declined noticeably from 33 pei cent in FY "90 to 20 per cent in FY "95.