NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday asked various central ministries to remain in a state of readiness for implementing schemes and projects as funds would be made available from April 1.

“This time the Finance Bill would be passed by Parliament before March 31, 2017, therefore, different ministries should be in a state of readiness as the funds for various schemes would be available with effect from April 1, 2017,” Jaitley was quoted as saying in an official statement.

The Finance Minister was addressing the financial advisors of various central ministries/departments after releasing the Revised General Financial Rules (GFRs) 2017 at the ‘Conference of the Financial Advisors (FAs)’ here. Appreciating the role of financial advisors in smooth implementation of budgeting and accounting reforms, Jaitley said the government as a whole has challenges lying ahead to ensure that expenditure on schemes and projects should start from the beginning of the financial year to leverage the early passing of the Budget. The Finance Minister also applauded the efforts that went into bringing out the Revised GFRs within a very short span of time to meet the need of the changing environment. On the occasion, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said the Revised GFRs aim to provide a framework within which an organisation manages its business in a financially prudent manner without compromising its flexibility to deal with varied situations. The new GFRs 2017 will enable an improved, efficient and effective framework of fiscal management while providing the necessary flexibility to facilitate timely delivery of services, Lavasa said. The statement said the conference also deliberated upon the various challenges and opportunities before the financial advisors and their key role in the implementation of the government schemes, besides providing innovative solutions in the changed environment in public financial management. The GFRs are rules and orders dealing with matters involving public finances. General Financial Rules were issued for the first time in 1947 bringing together in one place all existing orders and instructions pertaining to financial matters. These have subsequently been modified and issued as GFRs 1963 and GFRs 2005. In the last few years, the statement said the government has made many innovative changes in the way it conducts its business. –PTI