Chandigarh February 19 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): The Punjab government has made a significant decision for pension holders. Taking an important step towards digital transformation, Punjab’s Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema today launched 3 major IT-based financial modules aimed at enhancing financial transparency and efficiency in the state, as well as ensuring the welfare of pensioners. While launching the Pensioner Service Portal (PSP), the Finance Minister expressed the Punjab government’s unwavering commitment to pensioners. He mentioned that this digital platform has been created for services related to pensions.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema further stated that this portal will facilitate a smooth process for pension payment cases from the treasury to the banks, reduce delays in pension payments, ensure real-time case tracking, and ensure smooth resolution of complaints. The Non-Treasury Integrated Financial Management System (NT-IFMS) was also launched. The Finance Minister said that this module will improve transparency, enhance the submission of monthly accounts to the AG office, improve consolidation, and ensure better decision-making with accurate reporting through sub-modules like Anti-MIS, Anti-Accounting, Anti-Billing, and Anti-Receipt.
The Finance Minister mentioned that this system will prevent the state’s funds from being held in bank accounts, reduce the cost of borrowing, and improve cash management efficiency at the state level. He also highlighted that Punjab has been included in the list of states selected to implement SNA-Sparsh by October 2024, and through strategic efforts, the Finance Department has successfully included 09 centrally sponsored schemes by January 31, 2025, making the state eligible to receive Rs. 400 crore in incentives from the Government of India.
At the end of the event, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema congratulated the relevant officials from the Treasury and Accounts, NIC, and PMFS teams for their tireless efforts in achieving these important milestones. Present at the occasion were Principal Secretary of Finance Ajay Kumar Sinha, Secretary of Expenditure Vijay Namdev Rao Zade, Director of Treasury and Accounts Muhammad Tayyab, Deputy Accountant General Ravi Nandan Garg, Deputy Accountant General Manisha Toor, Additional Director of T&A Simarjit Kaur, and Regional Director of RBI Vivek Srivastava.
Summary: The Punjab government announces a significant decision that will benefit specific groups, providing new opportunities and support for them.