The beauty of planning
In today’s competitive world almost all the economies are facing severe stress owing to the two years of lockdown following the pandemic in 2020. The situation turned more grave when most of the economies opened up but the two years of slowdown had by then done the damage.
The situation that emerged needed immediate attention and those economies which came out with reform measures managed to stay afloat and even managed to set things right.
In India the government announced several measures which were timely implemented so that the economy could bear the lockdown shocks and people will not feel the impact like inflation and other related issues.
In Jammu and Kashmir also the introduction of a slew of major fiscal reforms by the administration tremendously transformed the financial system in the Union territory paving way for enhanced growth and development in the region.
On such a reformative measure was the Budget Estimation and Allocation Monitoring System (BEAMS). The move made it possible for the people to oversee works being executed in their areas on a real time basis. Besides, any deviation from the norm is also picked up and corrective measures are ensured.
In JK the administration has successfully implemented innovative initiatives in this regard which inter alia included BEAMS, online submission of bills through J&K PaySys, mandatory administrative approvals, technical sanctions and e-tendering, digital payments, GFR, GeM and related measures which have greatly helped the financial systems here.
These measures were necessary so that the region could be brought at par with any other developing financial system in the country. Moreover, the fiscal reforms have made it possible that works are being monitored and completed on fixed timelines.
The reform and the monitoring process has meant that during 2020-21, more than 18,000 works were available on the empowerment portal for the first time in J&K for public viewing thus bringing in real grass root empowerment.
Also over 66,000 developmental projects in the last three years were completed which brought many services at the door steps of a common man spread across the length and breadth of the region.
Notably, in March this year, J&K Finance department accorded sanction to authorization of 100 percent Revenue and Capex budget out of Revised Estimates (RE) 2021-22 through BEAMS within the appropriation approved by the Parliament for the current financial year.
Besides, the launch of the Photographic Record of On-site Facility (PROOF) application has helped in uploading geo-tagged photographs while preferring bills in the concerned treasuries against the budget allotted through the BEAMS application.
The measures that are yet to be taken are numerous but one thing that needs appreciation is that a process of reforms has been set into motion and various good things can be expected in the coming years.
KV Network
