New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): The Finance Ministry on Monday held pre-Budget discussions with representatives of healthcare, education and rural development. The 10th and the final pre-Budget meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, an official statement said.

The areas discussed included improvement of efficiency in the delivery of health services, devising innovative ways to reach primary healthcare facilities for marginalised sections and improving learning outcomes at primary level, it said.

Reforms related to pension and social protections, especially for the weaker sections, focus of government on public investment in social sector and gender equality with bottom's up methodology.

It also took up ways to boost economic and social infrastructure of rural sector and ways to eradicate unemployment and poverty through development of agriculture and allied sector as well as non-farm sector, said the statement.

"Among the many suggestions were benefits of child budgeting; a dedicated national fund for protection of children; eradication of child labour; and collecting gender disaggregated data by a national mission" said the statement.

The participants in the meeting included Abhinav Prakash (CSR Initiatives, Rashrtiya Sewa Bharati), Ambrish Rai (National Convenor, Right to Education Forum) and Vijay Thadani (Past Chairman, CII Education Council) among others.

Along with MoS Finance, the meeting was also attended by Rajeev Kumar (Finance Secretary), Atanu Chakraborty (Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs), Preeti Sudan (Secretary, Deptt. of Health & Family Welfare), among others.