Government constitutes Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to Improve The Governance of Public Sector Banks

Government constitutes Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to Improve The Governance of Public Sector Banks: Shri Vinod Rai, Former CAG of India, appointed as the Chairman of Banks Board Bureau

With a view to improve the Governance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs), the Government had decided to set up an autonomous Banks Board Bureau. The Bureau will recommend for selection of heads - Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions and help Banks in developing strategies and capital raising plans. Now, the Government has announced the constitution of Banks Board Bureau which will have three ex-officio members and three expert members in addition to Chairman. All the Members and Chairman will be part time. The BBB, which will start functioning from 1^st April, 2016 is constituted as follows:

Sl No.	Name/Designation	Designation
1	Shri Vinod Rai, Former CAG of India	Chairman
2	Secretary, Department Financial Services	Ex-officio member
3	Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises	Ex-officio member
4	Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India	Ex-officio member
5	Shri Anil K. Khandelwal, Former CMD of Bank of Baroda	Member
6	Shri H.N. Sinor, Former Joint MD, ICICI Bank	Member
7	Ms. Rupa Kudwa, Former MD&CEO, CRISIL	Member

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India’s representative Shri Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Council of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Rome

Shri Dinesh Sharma, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and India’s Governor to the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Rome was unanimously elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Council of IFAD for a period of two years in its 39th Session held in Rome,Italy on 17th and 18th February, 2016. Speaking on the occasion, the Italian President Mr Sergio Mattarella said that hunger and poverty are insidious, and are at the root of conflict and instability and are the link in chain that we need to break first to deal with emergencies and humanitarian disasters.

IFAD was set-up in 1977 as the 13th Specialised Agency of the United Nations and works towards removing poverty and hunger in rural areas all over the world. India is a founder member of IFAD and a key contributor among the member countries.

IFAD is managed by the two main governing bodies i.e. the Governing Council and the Executive Board. The Governing Council is the highest decision making body and consists of 176 member countries.

The aforesaid Governing Council Session was marked by special focus on inclusive growth and on the investments required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals in the realm of eradicating poverty and hunger. India emphasised that economic growth must be inclusive and participatory; and should result in an enhanced access to opportunities to all. India further added that access to formal finance at an affordable cost and in a transparent manner, would be crucial for a meaningful financial inclusion. The Indian Delegation also apprised the gathering about the steps taken by the Government of India to promote financial Inclusion through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)’ and ‘Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)’.

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 40th Civil Accounts Day to be Celebrated on 1st March 2016 in the National Capital; Best Performing Principal Accounts Officers (Pr.AOS)/Pay And Accounts Officers (PAOS) to be Awarded on the Occasion

            40th Civil Accounts Day will be celebrated on 1st March 2016 in the national capital. The office of Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is organizing a function at Vigyan Bhawan to mark the occasion. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee will be the Chief Guest and the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will preside the said function to be held on 1st March to celebrate the 40th Civil Accounts Day.  Continuing the practice of giving away awards to the best performing Principal Accounts Officers (Pr.AOs)/Pay and Accounts Officers (PAOs), the following awards will be presented on this occasion: 

·         Best Performing Principal Accounts Office (3 awards)

·         Best Performing PAO Unit (8 awards -2 each for 4 regions)

·         Best Internal Audit Unit (3 awards ) and 

·         Award for Outstanding Initiatives (3 awards)

Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance will give away these awards during the Valedictory Session in the evening on the same day.

The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) was constituted in 1976, consequent to a historical reform in public financial administration when the maintenance of Accounts of the Union Government was separated from that of Audit.  Consequently, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was divested with this responsibility.  Two Ordinances i.e., The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Amendment Ordinance, 1976 and Departmentalisation of Union Accounts (Transfer of Personnel) Ordinance, 1976 were promulgated by the President of India on March 1, 1976 to initiate the process of separation of accounts from audit and paving the way for departmentalized accounts.  Both Ordinances were replaced by two Acts of Parliament which were notified on April 6, 1976. 

The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is assisted by the Officers of the Indian Civil Accounts Service, and is the Principal Advisor on accounting matters to the Union Government.

Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is -

 The Principal Advisor on Accounting matters to the Union Government

 Responsible for establishing and managing a technically sound Management Accounting System

 Responsible for preparation and submission of the accounts of the Union Government

 Responsible for exchequer control and internal audits

RECENT INITIATIVES

Various initiatives have been taken recently by the office of CGA in order to improve the overall functioning and performance of its different units. Among others, it has designed, developed, owned and implemented a sound Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for the Government of India by establishing a comprehensive payment, receipt and accounting network.

Details of all such major initiatives are given below:

(I) Public Financial Management System(PFMS)

            PFMS is a web-based online software application, designed, developed, owned and implemented by the o/o CGA. The primary objective of PFMS is to facilitate a sound Public Financial Management System for the Government of India (GoI) by establishing a comprehensive payment, receipt and accounting network. The PFMS Portal has made a significant contribution to the Digital India Program of Government of India (GoI) by facilitating:

Ø   Fund Flow Tracking of Government of India (GoI) schemes (for nearly 100 schemes of GoI)

Ø   Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

Ø   Payment & Accounting of all GoI transactions

Ø   Non Tax Revenue Portal (NTRP) for online collection of non-tax revenue

 Achievements:

*   PFMS has the unique capability to push online payments to last mile beneficiaries/vendors (e.g. Panchayats/ Villages/ Implementing agencies). At present, the PFMS is integrated with the Core Banking System (CBS) of 93 Banks/ Reserve Bank of India/India Post.

*   Availability of real time data for Decision Support System for senior management in GoI (data period from January 2013 till mid-February)

Ø   Nearly 17.8 lakh agencies involved in release of funds have been registered on the PFMS portal.

Ø      Nearly 7 crore beneficiaries have received payments amounting to Rs. 50000 crore ($7692m) under DBT schemes of GoI.

Ø      Roll-out of Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)- a Flagship scheme of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Rs. 27,000crore ($4154m) have been disbursed to  bank accounts of beneficiaries.

Ø      For roll-out of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), another Flagship scheme of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Rs. 5800 crore ($892m) have been disbursed through 20 lakh credits to the bank accounts of beneficiaries.

Ø      DBT has been implemented in respect of 49 Central Schemes involving 25 crore transactions amounting to Rs. 39000 crores ($6000m). As many as 49 State schemes covering 5 crore transactions involving Rs.11000 crore ($1692m) have been supported by DBT.

Ø      Public Distribution System (PDS) Subsidy:  Ministry of Food has implemented cash transfer in lieu of food grains for PDS Cash subsidy through PFMS. Till date there are 14lakh transactions amounting Rs 59 crore ($9m).

Non Tax Revenue Portal (NTRP)

Under the PFMS architecture, a new portal was recently launched by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley for facilitating collection and remittance of Non Tax Revenues to the Government Account held in RBI. Benefits of this portal include:

Ø      Ease of Convenience for citizens and corporates to avail various kinds of departmental services and payment of due online

Ø      Proper accountal of receipts

Ø      Faster realization of revenues into Government Account.

Risk Based approach to Internal Audit

Internal Audit function is a key component of the Public Financial Management System in the government.  Over the years, the scope of coverage and approach towards this function has transitioned towards a risk-based approach that provides assurance service to the management.  The Office of Controller General of Accounts has introduced the Risk-Based internal audit approach that enables risk assessment in the implementation of projects and schemes of Government of India.  During 2015-16 pilots in four identified Ministries are being undertaken under the overall technical guidance of Office of CGA.  Several reform initiatives aimed at strengthening the internal audit framework, institutional mechanism and operational processes have commenced.Human Resources

The Institute of Government Accounts and Finance (INGAF) is the training arm of the Office of CGA.  The Institute imparts training in Government Accounting and Financial Management Systems to officials of the Civil Accounts Organization.

Apart from regular programs related to PFM, the Institute also provides a dynamic platform for sharing best practices and bridging incremental gaps in institutional delivery mechanisms.

With the objective of upgrading operational skills of participants through intensive learning and experience sharing, INGAF has been conducting various courses including:SSSSSS

·         Contemporary issues in Public Expenditure Management

·         Budgetary process and reforms

·         Risk Based Audit and internal control

·         Public Financial Management, etc.

International Programmes:

·         INGAF has trained participants from 112 countries (SAARC, CIS, African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American regions) under the aegis of its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)/ Special Commonwealth Assistance for Africa Program (SCAAP). Courses are conducted in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs, and are extremely popular.

·         Bilateral training programs for neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal.

National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad conducts several capacity building programs for Group A and B officers of the Civil Accounts Organisation. They include Induction Training Programs for newly recruited ICAS officers and other Mid-Career Training Programs for Group A and B officers.  For the last several years, substantial number of ICAS officers have received training on PFM in International Institutes such as School of Public Policy, University of Georgia, Atlanta, USA, and Duke University, North Carolina, USA.

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