Chandigarh, Oct 5 : The Directorate of Treasury and Accounts in Punjab has unveiled digital transformation initiatives aimed at modernising the administration, boosting transparency, and enhancing efficiency across all government departments, state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Sunday.

These reforms, spanning accounting, audit, fund management, and citizen services, mark a step towards fully digital governance in Punjab.

Cheema said the Directorate has developed the SNA-SPARSH, a new fund flow mechanism for centrally-sponsored schemes, and has availed an incentive of Rs 450 crore in FY 24-25.

He said this integrated framework connects the public financial management system (PFMS), the state IFMS, and RBI's E-kuber system, aiming to increase cash liquidity in the treasury and reduce unutilised funds parked in bank accounts.

"A separate SNA SPARSH treasury has been created to facilitate this mechanism, and the state is now aiming for an incentive of Rs 350 crore under Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment for the fiscal year 2025-26 (SASCI 2025-26)," Cheema said in a statement.

Highlighting another key initiative, the Finance Minister said the Pensioner Sewa Portal has been developed in consultation with the Punjab Development Commission to create a centralised database of all pensioners and facilitate online pension case processing between banks and the treasury.

He said this portal enables activities like sending e-PPO from treasury to banks and provides pensioners with real-time tracking of pension updates, grievance handling, life certificate integrations, and the ability to submit updation requests.

Discussing the new audit management system (AMS), the Finance Minister said the AMS grants all stakeholders real-time access to audit reports and facilitates enhanced oversight, with regular review meetings at the Administrative Secretary level for timely resolution of audit paras.

"The DTA also plans to include the Accountant General's audit reports in its future roadmap," said Cheema.

"The new initiatives also include the non-treasury module, a non-treasury accounting system developed in coordination with the Accountant General (AG) office to streamline the accounting for deposit works by the Forest and Works Departments. This system automates the submission of monthly accounts by all divisions in these departments," said the Finance Minister.

Adding further, he said that the government has also commenced the use of e-vouchers for all bills across Punjab, a measure expected to significantly reduce costs related to stationery, travelling, and the handling of physical vouchers submitted to the AG Punjab.

He said the necessary hardware for storing these e-vouchers has been procured and installed at the AG premises.

Cheema said that from automating departmental accounts and ensuring efficient central fund flow through SNA-SPARSH to digitising the entire audit and pension processes, these initiatives will deliver significant savings, increase accountability, and, most importantly, improve service delivery to our employees and citizens.

/IANS