Port Blair, Dec 06: The Accounts Cadre Service of the Andaman & Nicobar Administration is celebrating the First A&N Civil Accounts Day on 7th December, 2018. The service owes its origin to a major institutional reform undertaken in public financial management during 1980 that of separation of audit from accounts.
Since its creation in the year 1980, the cadre has played a significant role in providing an effective financial management system for the A & N Administration. Initially with a very small strength, the Pay and Accounting functions were looked after by the cadre, later with the advent of sufficient officers, internal finance wings were set up in all major departments of Administration.
During last 15 years, the cadre has grown by leaps and bounds. The Accounts cadre officers now serve all major departments as well as all the Divisions of APWD, Forest& Electricity Departments. This has immensely helped in the overall improvements of both the Payment and Accounting functions of the departments as well as timely reporting of expenditure and revenue status to the Administration.
The Accounts cadre shoulders the responsibility to judiciously spend the budget provided to a department by ensuing adherence to all Govt. rules and instructions. Currently the UT Budget of Rs 4593.86 crores apart from fund received under various centrally sponsored schemes is transacted through the able Officers of this cadre.
The Pay & Accounts Offices managed by the officers of Accounts cadre looks after all Payment and Accounting functions which include timely payment of salary and wages, settlement of personal claims of Govt. servants, authorization of pensions, GPF final payments, maintenance of GPF accounts of employees and remittance of NPS subscription to trustee bank along with revision of Pre 2016 pension cases. The Pay & Accounts Office has been monthly rendering the accounts to the O/o the Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance, Govt of India and also submitting the yearly Appropriation Accounts and Finance Accounts to the Govt of India.
The Accounts cadre has also been at the forefront in adapting to the latest Information Technology advancements. It’s a matter of great pride for the cadre that in the year 1992 itself, the Chief Pay & Accounts Office with the help of NIC has switched to computerized mode of Payment and Accounting as well as GPF data maintenance. A foxbase software running on UNIX operating system was used to process the bills received from the DDOs as well as to formulate the monthly UT accounts and maintenance of GPF accounts.
Currently, in spite of the connectivity constrains, IT platform such as comprehensive accounts system (COMPACT) developed by Accounts Informatics Division of NIC are effectively used. Web based accounts reporting tools such as E-lekha, Public Financial Management System (PFMS), are also used by the Pay & Accounts Offices. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payment methodologies are also used for disbursement of benefits under various social sector schemes, payment of scholarships etc. Altogether 120 Schemes (88 –CSS and 32 – UT Schemes) have been on boarded to National DBT Bharat Portal. The work of installation and hosting of DBT application of the UT for MIS integration with National DBT Bharat Portal is also complete and the DBT Application of UT will be made live to the DBT implementing Departments shortly.
PAO, Port Blair which is one of the largest Pay & Accounts Office under Controller General of Accounts (CGA), New Delhi with a daily receipt of bills to the tune of 1000-1500 Nos. and more than 110 DDOs attached to it, now makes all payments through e-payment mode using the Govt. e-payment gateway. The staff and Officers of the cadre have always been very enthusiastic in adapting to the new technologies. This has also led to a transparent environment in PAOs with availability of MIS reports indicating the process flow with disposal time at each stage.
Some of the Officers of the cadre posted in other departments are also at the forefront in bringing in technological reforms in the working environment particularly payment and accounting functions of the department. Officers of the cadre donning the cap of Nodal Officers IT in organization such as PBMC and earlier at Civil Supplies have brought laurels for the cadre with their work.
Some of them are also actively involved in other specialized work of the department to which they are attached to. The Accounts cadre Officers plays a major part in these departments with their knowledge of rules and regulations as well as providing a very sound budgeting and accounting system to the departments.
Although CGA has been observing 1st March, the day of creation of the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) cadre as the Civil Accounts Day, the accounts cadre of A&N Administration has felt the need to observe 7th of December as the A&N Civil Accounts Day to look back on the journey so far for the cadre and to provide a platform to the staff numbering around 170 posted at different offices across the Islands to share their views, interact with each other, to learn from each other as well as to create a sense of belonging to the organization. This platform is also for learning from the good practices adopted by the officers of the cadre in various departments and also to discuss and adapt various new changes in the govt. civil accounts sphere.
This is the day in 1992 from which the Ministry of Home affairs has extended the higher pay scale and parity with the cadre of O/o the Controller General Of Accounts , New Delhi along with other consequential benefits of organized accounts cadre of the Govt. of India to the accounts cadre of A&N Administration. The foundation stone for the CPAO building was also laid on the same day in the year 1983.
On this historic moment, the Staff Council and Chief Pay & Accounts Office congratulated all their staff and officers for the dedicated works rendered by them. The theme of the Celebrations of First Civil Accounts Day which is scheduled to be held today on 07/12/2018 at the TGCE Multipurpose Hall is kept as “Remembering the Pioneers- Honoring the Veterans”. The Staff Council and Chief Pay & Accounts Office conveyed its sincere gratitude to the veteran staff and Officers who had dedicatedly served the organization and has brought it into a respectable position.
