The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs announced the mandatory use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) for all the Central Sector Schemes of the Government of India would help in tracking and monitoring the flow of funds to the implementing agencies.
Central Sector Schemes with a budgetary outlay of Rs.6, 66,644 crore covers over 31 percent of the total Central Government expenditure during the current financial year 2017-18.
PFMS, with the capability of providing real time information on resource availability, flows and actual utilization has tremendous potential to improve programme/financial management, reduce the float in the financial systems by enabling 'just in time' releases and also the Government borrowings with direct impact on interest costs to the Government.
PFMS will progress towards a Government wide Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) - as a comprehensive Payment, Receipt and Accounting System.
PFMS is poised to develop as one of the biggest Financial Management Systems of the world, which is critical for bringing about a transformational accountability and transparency in the Government Financial Management Systems and promoting overall Good Governance.
To date payments to 34.19 crore beneficiaries have been made through PFMS and there are 21.72 lakh Programme Implementing Agencies registered on PFMS.
For the first time, Annual Accounts of the Central Government for the Financial Year 2016-17 have been signed before 31st October, 2017.
The PFMS Scheme has been rolled-out by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) at the behest of Finance Ministry, Department of Expenditure as a cherished Public Finance Management (PFM) reform in the country.
Considering the diversity and multiplicity of channels through which money is spent/transferred (including through Direct Benefit Transfer), the PFMS is designed to serve the pertinent need of establishing a common electronic platform for complete tracking of fund flows from the Central Government to large number of programme implementing agencies, both under Central Government and the State Governments till it reaches the final intended beneficiaries.
The mandatory PFMS on-boarding for the remaining Schemes and Programmes including the Centrally Sponsored Schemes is also targeted to be achieved in a phased manner.
