Kelkar committee report

Annex 6: Role of Technology in Managing Expenditure
1. The Budget Speech of 2008-09 stated that “There is a need for effective monitoring,
evaluation and accounting system for the funds that are disbursed by the Central Government
to State Governments, district level agencies and other implementing agencies as Plan
Expenditure.” As a result, the Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS) has been
set up by the CGA. Going forward, the Report of the Technology Advisory Group for Unique
Projects report provides a blueprint for setting up an Expenditure Information Network (EIN),
which is designed to track Government Expenditure in real-time from the Ministry of Finance
to the last mile. The EIN will lead to efficient utilization of funds, since funds can be
allocated just-in-time when the expenditure is incurred, rather than well in advance of the
actual spending. The design of the EIN makes it possible to operate across multiple levels of
Government, across various types of Government bodies, and provides real-time end-to-end
visibility, transparency and full accountability for all expenditure.
2. Aadhaar can be accepted as proof of identity (POI) and proof of address (POA) for
banking, financial services, LPG, and various other Government services at the Central,
State, and Local Government levels. The linkage of Aadhaar for service delivery will help
ensure the transfer of Government benefits to the intended beneficiaries, while curbing
expenditure on fakes, duplicates, and ghosts.
3. All Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payments can be made electronically into the
bank accounts of the beneficiaries. This will curb leakage and siphoning of money intended
for beneficiaries. Efficiency of payments in social safety net programs (MGNREGS, SSP,
JSY, IAY, payments to Asha workers and Anganwadi workers, etc.) will ensure that these
programs deliver the intended policy goals. A detailed blueprint for implementation is
provided in the Report of the Task Force on an Aadhaar-enabled unified Payments
Infrastructure 5 .
4. The Report of the Task Force on direct transfer of subsidy for LPG, Kerosene, and
Fertilizers 6 has recommended the movement of subsidized goods at market prices, and
making Direct Transfer of Subsidy (DTS) payments into bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
This will also help reduce the expenditure on subsidies.
5 http://finmin.nic.in/reports/Report_Task_Force_Aadhaar_PaymentInfra.pdf
6 http://finmin.nic.in/reports/Interim_report_Task_Force_DTS.pdf
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