India haven of stability; need efforts to sustain growth: FM

Describing India as a haven of stability amid a weak economic environment globally, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said efforts will have to be made to sustain growth.
"The prevailing economic scenario across the world is challenging to say the least. This year's Budget was proposed and presented at a time of unusual volatility in the international economic environment, markets are fearful, the global recovery may be faltering.
"Against this background, India stands out as a haven of stability and opportunity," Jaitley said at the Civil Accounts Day 2016 here.
The country's macro economics factors are stable and the government is committed to fiscal consolidation as well as low inflation, he said a day after presenting the Union Budget for the next fiscal, starting April.

India's economic growth is among the highest in the world, and the achievements are remarkable because they have been accomplished in the face of weak exports demand and a second successive year of poor rainfall, Jaitley said.
"The task is now to sustain them in the more difficult environment. This will require sound economic management. Fiscal policy will continue to be vital in the uncertain global environment while sustaining growth," he added.

The minister said that on the government's reform to transform agenda, a series of measures have been enacted which should increase the supply potential of the economy.
"We want to create wealth and spread that wealth across the economy specially to the farmers, vulnerable and the disadvantaged groups...Enhanced social sector spending aimed at promoting equitable growth and increasing demand for better services from the government has raised the need for the new and improved accountability paradigm," he said.

He added that it is therefore imperative to strengthen the expenditure management, strategies and further improve on the quality of expenditure for achieving higher social outcomes.
Further, Jaitley said he has recently received the report of the expenditure management commission, constituted to recommend the ways to improve the efficiency of the public expenditure.
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Jaitley said the CGA can play an important role towards improving public expenditure management by commissioning specific studies that evaluate and measure performances in implementation of national priority programmes.
He added: "Outputs and outcomes can be measured. What is measurable can be made accountable. Our object is to learn from the past experience in implementation of major projects and schemes and rectify weaknesses through suitable modifications in the design of future projects.

"We may have to go beyond government's system to draw upon the domain expertise and associated skills available with professional bodies."
Jaitley said that in partnership with professional bodies, "we could start building capacities in our systems over a period of time".
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Tracing the outcomes of departmentalised accounts, Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal said "the management accounting function is now well entrenched in the executive.
"Line Ministries and Departments today take complete responsibility for their spending decisions, and the resultant outputs and outcomes of budget allocations voted by Parliament. Prescribed timeliness for closure of monthly and annual accounts are complied with," he said at the 40th Civil Accounts Day.

He further said the role played by the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) in facilitating timely payments to the poor and needy people of our country in respect of social sector schemes administered through the DBT mode.
"PFMS has become a game changer and has led to significant efficiency gains for the government. It is for this reason that government intends to further strengthen the capacities and capabilities of PFMS and transform it to an Integrated Financial Management Information System."
At the occasion, Controller General of Accounts, Mohan J Joseph said reforms in public financial management are a continuous process.

"From time to time, structural changes take place in the economy, as well as in the functioning of the government which demand accounting data on public finances to be available to decision makers, often on real time basis," he said.
This demand for faster information can only be met through adoption of technology in the banking sector, since banks play a pivotal role in the treasury operations, Joseph added.
Recognising this need, he said, the service has since its inception, been a pioneer in the use of Information Technology in payments, Accounting and Financial Reporting.
Later, many officers of the CGA were awarded for their outstanding performances by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.