PC seeks to ensure financial discipline

NEW DELHI: The so-called autonomous bodies under various Central ministries and departments have come under finance ministry's scanner. Finance ministry's expenditure department has initiated steps to ensure that Rs 11,000 crore which government doles out to these autonomous institutions every year is spent well. Expenditure secretary Adarsh Kishore has written to secretaries of all Central ministries and departments asking them to ensure that the autonomous bodies under them are brought under financial discipline.Autonomy should not mean lack of financial accountability, they have told. The expenditure department feels that to ensure financial discipline, it is important that the boards of governor of the autonomous bodies are properly constituted, as has been provided under the relevant law, and key appointments in these institutions are regular. The autonomous bodies include Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Indian Council of Historical Research, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, all IIMs and IITs, and National Council of Educational Research and Training. Some autonomous bodies such as University Grants Commission, which in turn funds higher education throughout the country, or the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which has a network of research institutions with 38,000 staff, have large finances to handle. The administrative departments and ministries have been advised to ensure that these autonomous institutions submit timely utilisation certificates about the funds released to them. The autonomous bodies are also required to obtain certificates of utilisation from the institutions or projects they fund out of the grants received from Centre. Finance ministry officials said the autonomous institutions are doing important work in a variety of fields and, as such, deserve grants that Centre provides to them through parliamentary approval. But many of them are large bodies and they, in turn, fund various activities and institutions. It is important that they exercise financial control over their activities.