Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 23: Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has become one of the few UTs of the country to register all schools and educational administrative offices under Samagra Shiksha on PFMS (Public Financial Management System) with an objective of bringing transparency in public expenditure in schools.
Congratulating the whole team for this outstanding achievement, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar maintained that the present administration is committed to bring out transparency in public services and shifting gradually towards e-governance system.
The Advisor said that through PFMS, all kind of fund flow mechanism shall be very fair thereby minimizing the chances of mismanagement of grants. “Government is moving fast towards fulfilling ‘Digital India’ the mission of Prime Minister”, Bhatnagar added.
Administrative Secretary School Education, B. K. Singh revealed that more than 23,000 Government Schools in J&K and other Educational Administrative offices of CEOs, DIETs and ZEOs receiving Grant-in-aid under Samagra Shiksha have been registered on PFMS portal. He added that this initiative will enable the government to monitor the fund flow and expenditure of all the registered schools under Samagra Shiksha at each level which in turn will ensure transparency in implementation of the scheme across the UT.
Singh reiterated that all kinds of financial transactions within the department shall now be done through PFMS. On-boarding of Samagra Shiksha on PFMS is a milestone in bringing transparency and accountability in public expenditure.
Dr. Arun Manhas, Project Director, Samagra Shiksha J&K said that despite various hardships and connectivity issues, the technical team completed the task of 100% registration of Government Schools and other Educational Administrative offices on time.
Pertinently, PFMS is a web-based online software application developed and implemented by Union Ministry of Finance, with the objective of tracking funds released under all Plan schemes of Government of India, and real time reporting of expenditure at all levels of Programme implementation.
Subsequently, the scope was enlarged to cover direct payment to beneficiaries under all Schemes. PFMS provides various stakeholders with a real time, reliable and meaningful management information system and an effective decision support system, as part of the Digital India initiative of Government of India.