Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to track the progress of bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with the click of a mouse.
This is thanks to the Public Financial Management System (PFMS), an initiative of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
The CGA is the principal accounts adviser to the Government and responsible for establishing and maintaining a sound management accounting system. It works under the Finance Ministry and is manned by officers from the Indian Civil Accounts Services.
“We are ready to offer a customised version of this system to the Prime Minister. This will help him know how many accounts are operative or dormant… from the national level to village level,” a senior CGA official told
Once approved, it will not take more than a month to customise the system, the official said.
The system is already linked with 26 nationalised banks, seven private sector banks and 69 regional rural banks. It also has an interface with 1.05 lakh post offices, out of a total of 1.50 lakh post offices in the country.
The PMJDY was launched on August 28 as a comprehensive financial inclusion programme to bring those without bank accounts into the banking system.
The target is to open 7.5 crore bank accounts by January 26. The mission also envisages expansion of Direct Benefit Transfers under various Government schemes through the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Direct Benefit Transfer would mean the transfer of amounts due to the beneficiary directly to her/his Aadhaar-linked bank account, thereby eliminating the existing intervening layers.
“After issuing the payment order, the system can validate the bank account of the real beneficiary and filter duplication or bogus accounts. Leakage will be plugged,” another official said.
The system will help know if the money transferred from the Government reaches the real beneficiary.
As on March 31, direct benefit transfers amounting to ₹346.81 crore had been made to 24.13 lakh beneficiaries.