Grant-in-Aid

Grant-in-Aid 

(Russian, subventsiia), a form of monetary benefit granted to local bodies of power by the state. Unlike subsidies (dotatsii), grants-in-aid are given for specific purposes and on condition of participation by local budgetary funds. In the capitalist countries, they are used to increase the dependence of local agencies on the central bodies of power. In the USSR, grants-in-aid from the state budget were introduced in 1924. They helped cover local budgetary expenditures for such purposes as the construction of schools, hospitals, and local roads. By 1931, as new forms of budget control were introduced and as planning came to play a greater role in the national economy, the system of grants-in-aid had ceased to be of importance.