Civil Accounts Day is celebrated every year on 1st March in India to commemorate the Foundation Day of the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS), which operates under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance (MoF).
- 1st March 2025 marks the 49th Civil Accounts Day.
Background:
i.The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) is one of India’s Civil Services, established in 1976 as a result of the Government of India’s (GoI) significant reform in public financial administration.
ii.On March 1, 1976, the President of India issued two Ordinances to begin the process of separating the auditing and accounting functions of the Union Government accounts from the Indian Audits and Accounts Service.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) (Duties, Powers, and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 1976, amended the conditions of service for the CAG.
- The Departmentalisation of Union Accounts (Transfer of Personnel) Ordinance, 1976, was enacted to separate the Union Government accounts from audit functions, thereby laying the foundation for the creation of departmentalised accounts.
- Since then, ICAS, guided by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), has played a pivotal role in financial governance.
iii.The Act came into effect on March 1, 1976, and ever since, March 1 has been commemorated as “Civil Accounts Day” or the “Foundation Day of ICAS.”
Public Financial Management System (PFMS):
ICAS also leveraged advanced technologies to support data-driven decision-making within the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
i.PFMS, previously known as the Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System (CPSMS), is a web-based online software application developed and implemented by the Office of CGA, Ministry of Finance (MoF), GoI.
ii.It serves as the primary Information Technology (IT) platform for government financial administration, covering functions such as payment, receipt, accounting, cash management, and financial reporting.
iii.It enables Payments and Exchequer Control, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), monitoring of fund flow mechanisms, accounting of receipts (both tax and non-tax), compilation of accounts, preparation of fiscal reports, and dissemination of information.
iv.PFMS, which now manages the entire Union Government of India’s budget for accounting and 65% of its budget for payments, stands as a testament to the leadership demonstrated by ICAS in this area.
Note: PFMS was initially launched in 2009 as a Central Sector Scheme by the Planning Commission. In 2013, its scope was expanded to include direct payments to beneficiaries under both Plan and Non-Plan schemes.
2025 Events:
i.Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) lead the celebrations for the 49th Civil Accounts Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi (Delhi) on 1st March 2025.
- The event was graced by officers and staff of the Indian Civil Accounts Organisation, Secretaries, Financial Advisers of GoI, and dignitaries from various sectors.
ii.During the inaugural session, a compendium on PFMS, titled “Digitalisation of Public Financial Management in India: The Transformative Decade (2014-24),” unveiled.
iii.In the second session, Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission(FC) of India, delivered the keynote address on “India in the Global Economy: The Next Decade.”
About Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS):
Controller General of Accounts (CGA)– S. S. Dubey
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Established – 1976
