Audit Reports
Punjab
Audit Report (State Finance), Punjab for the Year 2010-11
Overview
To ensure prudence in fiscal management and to achieve fiscal stability in the State the Government of Punjab had enacted the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003. To improve the fiscal position and to bring fiscal stability, the Act envisages progressive elimination of the revenue deficit, reduction in fiscal deficit and prudent debt management consistent with fiscal sustainability. The Thirteenth Finance Commission (ThFC) in its report has recommended a revised roadmap for Fiscal Consolidation for States and a Fiscal Consolidation Roadmap for the years 2010-11 to 2014-15 has been prepared for each state incorporating year-wise annual targets for revenue deficit, fiscal deficit and debt outstanding.
The Act, as amended (March 2011), prescribed the following fiscal targets for Punjab State: a) reduce fiscal deficit as percent of estimated Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from 3.5 percent in the financial year 2010-11, to three per cent by 2014-15 and maintain the ratio thereafter; b) reduce the revenue deficit as per cent of estimated GSDP to bring it down to 1.8 percent in the financial year 2011-12 and to zero percent or surplus, in the financial year 2014-15 and maintain surplus thereafter; c) bring down debt as per cent of estimated GSDP to 42.5 per cent in the financial year 2010-11 and 38.7 per cent by 2014-15; d) cap the outstanding guarantees on long term debt to 80 per cent of the revenue receipts of the previous year. Guarantees on short term debt were to be given only for working capital or food credit in which case this must be fully backed by physical stocks.
The Report based on the audited accounts of the Government of Punjab for the year ended March 2011, this report provides an analytical review of the Annual Accounts of the State Government. The report is structured in three Chapters. Chapter 1 is based on the audit of Finance Accounts and makes an assessment of the Punjab Government's fiscal position as on 31 March 2011. It provides an insight into the trends in receipts and expenditure, committed expenditure, borrowing pattern, fiscal imbalances etc, besides a brief account of central funds released directly to the State implementing agencies through off-budget route. Chapter 2 is based on the audit of Appropriation Accounts and it gives the grant wise description of appropriations and the manner in which the allocated resources were managed by the service delivery departments. Chapter 3 is report on the Punjab Government's compliance with various reporting requirements and financial rules. The report also has an appendage of additional data collected from several sources in support of the findings.