Cabinet nod for central plan scheme monitoring system

The union cabinet Thursday approved the national rollout of a system to monitor central plan schemes, and aiming to efficiently track fund flow to the lowest level.

The Plan Accounting and Public Finance Management System (PA&PFMS), also known as Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS), will be rolled out over a period of four years till 2017 at a total outlay of Rs.1,080 crore, an official release said here.

The new system provides for a financial management platform for all plan schemes, a database of all recipient agencies and integration with core banking solution of banks handling plan funds, integration with state treasuries and efficient and effective tracking of fund flow to the lowest level of implementation.

It intends to provide information across all plan schemes or implementation agencies in the country on fund utilization leading to better monitoring, review and decision support to enhance public accountability in the implementation of plan schemes.

It will result in effectiveness and economy in public financial management through better cash management for government transparency in public expenditure and real-time information on resource availability and utiliztion across schemes.

The roll-out will also result in improved programme administration and management, direct payment to beneficiaries and greater transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

The project organization structure will comprise the Project Implementation Committee (PIC) at the apex level, the central project management unit (CPMU) at the centre and units at the state and district levels.