Departments asked to project capital budget on ‘output-outcome’ basis

Jammu, Nov 13: All Administrative departments will project the 2025-26 budget based on an “output-outcome basis” reflecting each activity in it (budget) as a “scheme which has defined targets and deliverables.”

Besides, the ‘Gender specific’ plan and ‘Child Welfare’ plan will be among six categories where under the Capital Expenditure plan will be furnished by the departments. Other four categories will be the Construction plan; Up-gradation and Maintenance plan; Building plan and Procurement plan.

In the case of the Capital budget, the departments have been asked to adopt a scheme-based budgeting system.

Notably, the J&K Finance Department has set November 20 as the target date for consolidation and submission of Budget Estimates (BEs) of 2025-26 and Revised Estimates (REs) of 2024-25 by the departments.

It has already been directed to complete budget preparation at the level of the Heads of Departments (HoDs) by November 15, 2024.

J&K budget 2025-26 will be presented after a gap of six years in its Legislative Assembly. Though the new Government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the charge of the Finance Minister as of now, has yet to take a final call about the timing of the budget session yet it is believed that it may stick to its earlier February-March session.

During the PDP-BJP government, the session was preponed to January in alignment with the timing of the Union Budget and also on the pretext of prolonging the working session in a state like J&K, where inclement weather conditions in treacherous areas leaves a very short period for development activities. As per officials, the situation will be clear in the next few days regarding timing. Meanwhile, preparations for J&K Budget 2025-26 are already underway in a proactive manner. The departments have been directed that Capex budget and expenditure including District, Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), Central and Externally Aided projects should be included in the Budget Estimates 2025-26 in a separate statement on the pattern of the Revenue Expenditure budget showing the project-wise works statement with details of individual schemes. It has been specified that the budget under CSSs being implemented in the districts as per the 11th schedule of the constitution will be consolidated by the Administrative departments in consultation with the DCs and furnished to the Finance Department in the specified format.

“The actual targets under each scheme and projections should be based on scientific calculations. The requirement of the funds should be such as to cover the entire gap in funding of all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Projections under all CSS should be made to achieve 100 percent targets under each scheme as per the standard norms of the scheme,” it has been stipulated.

The Departments will ensure that the Budgetary Estimates (BEs) 2025-26 do not contain any lump sum provisions and that the projections are made right up to the last tier of classification i.e. up to detailed head-level budget proposals should be prepared by each department in consultation with the respective DDOs. They (departments) have been directed to specifically indicate the actual expenditure of the previous financial year and up-to-date expenditure of the current financial year in respect of the Capex including CSS in the work statement of their budget proposals.

There should be a clear distinction between ongoing works and new works and the details of ongoing works should include scheme code or work code generated on the BEAMS portal.

With regard to linking Capex with SDGs, it has been specified that the departments will link the budget requirement with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to assess the requirement of Capital investments for attaining all the indicators and goals defined under SDGs.

As a sequel to the implementation of the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 1, 2010, the departments have been instructed to work out the actual requirements of basic pay in respect of each DDO, establishment as employer's contribution and make the projections under NPS more realistically after taking into account the provision for vacant posts.