Government makes use of Public Finance Management System mandatory for central schemes

The Union Government has made use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) mandatory for all central schemes to ensure that benefits of government schemes reach the last mile. It will help monitor the flow of funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes.
So far total of 613 Central Sector Schemes are covered under PFMS having 34.19 crore beneficiaries with help of 21.72 lakh programme registered implementing agencies. These schemes with a budgetary outlay of Rs.6, 66,644 crore covers over 31% of total Central Government expenditure during the current financial year 2017-18.

Public Finance Management System (PFMS)

The PFMS scheme has been rolled out by Controller General of Accounts at behest of Union Finance Ministry, Department of Department of Expenditure. It is an electronic fund tracking mechanism compiles, collates and makes available in real-time, information regarding all government schemes.
PFMS is poised to develop as one of biggest financial management systems of the world, critical for bringing about transformational accountability and transparency in promoting overall good governance. It aims at providing government real-time information on resource availability and utilisation across schemes.
It aims at promoting transparency and bringing about tangible improvements in overall Central Government Financial Management as well as implementation of various Central Government Schemes across the country. PFMS’s ambit of coverage includes Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes as well as other expenditures including Finance Commission Grants.
In future, Government aims to transform PFMS to Government-wide Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) as a comprehensive payment, receipt and accounting system.

Significance

The PFMS aims to help in complete tracking and monitoring flow of funds to implementing agencies and ensuring timely transfer of funds. It will help government to ascertain actual status of utilization of funds by multiple implementing agencies of central and the state governments. It will also cut need for paper work and in long way help in monitoring and tracking of any unnecessary parking of funds by implementing agencies, thus minimising cases of delay and pending payments to large extent. It will help to plug leakages in system and help to manage and maintain data that government can use to develop more scientific approach.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2017