Orissa sets ball rolling for compiling country's first online budget

In the first of its kind initiative in the country, the Orissa government has set the ball rolling for compiling its State Budget for 2012-13 online, a move expected to increase efficiency, transparency and overcome the existing difficulties in monitoring and retrieving information to a great extent.

The finance department has asked all departments to submit online proposals to the Department of Planning & Coordination for the ensuing annual budget by November 26.

The plan proposals need to be submitted to finance department online after receiving plan ceiling from Planning & Coordination department.

The automated system for compilation of the annual budget is set to save 8000 man hours for departments and 2000 man hours for the finance department. Besides, the system involves paper less transaction.

“The online process will streamline information related to the budget and reduce dependence on budget branches of the finance department. The online application will help the officials involved in the process to carry out budget preparation in a timely and systematic manner,” said an official source.

The officials involved in the budget process will be provided with unique user-id and password to access the system.

The state government plans to switch over to the web-based system by the Supplementary Budget for 2012-13.

The automated budget system will also be extended to the level of controlling officer for flow of Budget proposal from the base level. The finance department had recently decided to compile the Supplementary statement of expenditure online. The non-plan Supplementary budget proposals have been received from all departments. These are being scrutinized by the finance department.

For the annual Budget for 2012-13, no state plan scheme with provision below Rs one crore should be formulated separately. Any existing or new state plan scheme with provision below Rs one crore should be merged and shown as a sub-scheme to a scheme of nature.

The process includes non-plan data entry at all administrative departments, additional plan ceiling entry by Planning & Coordination department, plan data entry at all administrative departments and finalization of supplementary provisions as well as preparation of supplementary reports at the finance department.

For each demand, plan, sector, major head, sub-major head and minor head, one single supplementary demand schedule is to be prepared. Reasons are to be entered only against each supplementary provision and in case of voluminous reasons, annexure may be attached.

Each record of saving, surrender and adjustment has to be made from the existing chart of accounts of Annual Budget. New code assignment will be done at the finance department. Assignment of new code to new scheme, sub-scheme and detail head pertaining to expenditure type must be done through budget expenditure cell.