'Network of networks': Achievements of PFMS on par with DPI, says FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the 49th Civil Accounts Day celebrated to mark the 49th foundation day of Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) in New Delhi today, said the PFMS (Public Financial Management System) achieved the key goals of governance by reaching the last mile, benefitting 60 crore beneficiaries with the direct delivery of over 1,200 central and state schemes. These include 1,100 DBT schemes, end-to-end digitisation through integration, with 250 plus external systems such as GeM, GSTIN, TIN 2.0, and PM Kisan, she said.

"During bilateral engagements, many countries show interest in India's Digital Payment Interface. Not just the countries from the Global South but even the developed countries hail our systems & there is a lot of discussion about how we can share our expertise with them. The achievements of the PFMS are no less than that of the DPI. I'm sure there are many countries which will immensely benefit from your experience & delivery," she said.

While PFMS tracks and manages funds disbursed under various schemes, and ensures transparency and efficiency, the Centre's DPI infrastrcuture comprises digital systems and platforms that support public services, governance, and economic activities.

Sitharaman added the PFMS has led to the strengthening of cooperative federalism through integration of 31 state treasuries and 40 lakh programme implementing agencies enabling seamless financial management for millions of citizens.

She also underlined PFMS as the "network of networks" with 650 financial institutions -- RBI, NPCI, public and private sector banks -- facilitating seamless fund transfers, saying the volume of PFMS transactions has gone up exponentially from 2 crore payments in 2015 to 250 crore in 2024.

The FM also called for “improving data governance, collection, processing and management of data and statistics, different sectoral databases, with the active use of technology tools. She said the CGA has the potential to work as the custodian of "huge database".

Manoj Govil, Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, said there's a need to harmonise Union and state accounts, including the urban, rural and local bodies to facilitate better financial reporting.

Arvind Panagariya, Chairman, 16th Finance Commission, said the PFMS acts as a "critical digital infrastructure" to enable transactions between different economic entities efficiently and transparently. He said UPI & PFMS should be part of India’s international diplomatic outreach and global relationship.