President Pranab Mukherjee for system to track, monitor public expenditure

NEW DELHI: There is a necessity of a sound system of tracking, monitoring and reporting of public expenditures, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

Addressing a group of probationer officers, he said that good Public Financial Management System (PFMS) is the key to good governance.

In almost all countries of the world today, there is a move towards developing Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) and towards setting up standards in accounting, auditing and budgeting, the President said.

"The Government of India is also moving towards such a system. In India today this is a necessity in view of the increasing quantum of public expenditures which require a sound system of tracking, monitoring and reporting to be in place. In developing such a system we need to learn from best global practices and build upon them," Mukherjee said.

The President said that there are rising expectations amongst the public for greater efficiencies in service delivery accompanied by transparency and accountability in government processes.

In order to address these concerns, it is imperative for government departments to modernise systems by making best use of information and communication technology and to make such systems citizen-centric, secure, efficient, economical and transparent, he said.

The President was talking to probationers of Indian Defence Accounts Service, Indian Civil Accounts Service, Indian Railway Accounts Service and Indian P&T Finance & Accounts Service at Rashtrapati Bhavan.