Functional Specifications

iFIX business specifications

Overview

This page provides the details of the fiscal event-based approach for building out iFIX as an information exchange platform. These details are used to define the technical specifications for iFIX and the functional specifications that are open for validation and inputs internally and from the ecosystem.

Scope

The specifications have been defined from the lens of a sub-national government (the state in the current context) and are limited to interactions from a financial information perspective. The interactions covered on this page include:

• State Finance Department (FD) and Central (National) Government
• State Finance Department (FD) and Line Department(s) at the state level
• State Line Department’s interactions with other line departments
• State Line Department’s interactions with government autonomous bodies including local government and/or non-government agencies

The functional specifications are built using publicly available information and inputs from the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), Punjab, and Finance Department, Punjab. Financial information-related interactions of the Central Government with other Central Line Departments are out of the scope of the current specs.

Fiscal Events Based Approach

The broad objective of iFIX is to enable the flow of reliable and verifiable fiscal information in a timely manner. Recognizing the multiplicity of unique types of information flows in the current PFM system, iFIX aims at simplifying this network of information flow. The key driver of this simplification will be the use of standardised formats for fiscal information exchange. To arrive at a crystallised set of formats and protocols covering all fiscal information exchanges following steps have been followed

• Step 1 - Define what is a fiscal event (and its types) or what is the scope of relevant fiscal information from an iFIX perspective (refer Fiscal Events Based Approach section)
• Step 2 - Document the current public finance management processes at a generic level, i.e. defined using actors, verbs, inputs and outputs to ensure they are representative of all minor variants of the process at the level of various sub-national governments in India. (refer to tables in Inferring Fiscal Events from As-is-Process Flows, columns 1-6)
• Step 3 - Apply the definition of the fiscal event to the current processes to collapse or abstract the fiscal event essence of the whole process to a set of fiscal events. (refer to tables in Inferring Fiscal Events from As-is-Process Flows, columns 7-9).
• Step 4 - Extract the current data attributes used for fiscal information exchange to define the format for fiscal information exchange. (refer to tables in Inferring Fiscal Events from As-is-Process Flows, columns 10)

Definition of Fiscal Event

Events that trigger the generation of relevant fiscal information, at any stage in the budget cycle, are termed fiscal events. To be classified as a fiscal event, the event will need to meet one of the following criteria:

Transaction-Based Fiscal Events: Such fiscal events are triggered when there is fiscal information being generated due to an actual change of hands of a financial asset or in simple words due to a financial transaction.

Non-Transactional Fiscal Events: While there are numerous non-transactional events that occur throughout the budget cycle, these are termed Fiscal events only if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Minimum Degree of Finality: A non-transactional event will be considered a fiscal event only when the action resulting from or the document produced from the event has definitive implications for the budgetary cycle. Examples:

  1. A draft of the budget that has been prepared at the state line department level (DDO) and sent to the next competent authority (BCO) for approval will trigger a fiscal event. The reason for this is that it is assumed that the line department at its level has done the calculations for arriving at a final figure which then needs to be approved by the next competent authority.
  2. With respect to any payments to be made out of state treasury, any verbal/ email-based intra-Finance department go-ahead (between State Treasury and Cash Planning Department) to make the payment will not be considered a Fiscal Event. Only the generation of Payment Advice to the concerned bank will trigger a fiscal event.
• Change in ability to claim/ use/ dispose of a financial asset: A non-transactional event will be considered a fiscal event if it results in (de-)authorizing a certain individual or entity to claim/ utilize/ dispose of a financial asset. Examples:

  1. Allocation of the budget by the department to respective DDOs authorises the DDOs to utilize the funds as planned in the budget and will trigger a fiscal event.

Types of Fiscal Events

The fiscal information generated during each fiscal event needs to be recorded in a specific format for the purpose of exchange. Based on the current budgetary practices and guidelines followed at the sub-national and national levels in India, the fiscal events triggered during the course of the budget cycle can be classified into four major types:

1. Revenue Receipts: Revenue receipts comprise receipts that do not result in the creation of a liability on the government. The total revenue receipts include State’s Own Tax and Non-Tax revenues and Grants-in-Aid and Share in Central Taxes from the Government of India. The non-tax revenues consist mainly of interest and dividends on investments made by the Government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by the Government.
2. Capital Receipts: The capital receipts are loans raised by the Government from the public (these are termed as market loans), borrowings by the Government through the sale of Treasury Bills, the loans received from Central Government and bodies, disinvestment receipts and recoveries of any loans and advances given.
3. Revenue Expenditure: Revenue expenditure is for the normal running of different Government Departments and for the rendering of various services, making interest payments on debt, meeting subsidies, grants in aid, etc. Broadly, the expenditure which does not result in the creation of assets for the Government of India is treated as revenue expenditure. All grants given by the State are also treated as revenue expenditure even though some of the grants may be used for the creation of capital assets.
4. Capital Expenditure: Capital payments consist of capital expenditure on the acquisition of assets like land, buildings, machinery, and equipment, as also investments in shares, etc., and loans and advances made by the State Government to boards, corporations and other institutions.

Fiscal Event - Sub-Types

Further within each major type of fiscal event, there are varied types of events. To enable information exchange using an easily understandable and standardised format, subtypes of fiscal events are identified based on the similarity in nature of fiscal information generated due to these events.

#	Sub-Type Fiscal Event	Definition
			Revenue Receipts	Capital Receipts	Revenue Expenditure	Capital Expenditure
1	Estimate	Event resulting in fiscal information containing a high-level view regarding what amount of receipts/ expenditure is expected/ needed.	☑️	☑️	☑️	☑️
2	Plan	Event resulting in fiscal information containing a detailed view regarding how the estimated receipts/ expenditure will be met/ utilized.	☑️	☑️	☑️	☑️
3	Demand	Event resulting in fiscal information containing a request for transfer or payment of money into the government account.	☑️	☑️
4	Bill	Event resulting in fiscal information containing a request for transfer or payment of money out of the government account.			☑️	☑️
5	Receipt	Event resulting in fiscal information containing banking transaction initiation details for any fund transferred into the government account.	☑️	☑️
6	Payment	Event resulting in fiscal information containing banking transaction initiation details for any fund transferred out of the government account.			☑️	☑️
7	Debit	Event resulting in fiscal information containing banking transaction completion details for any fund transferred out of the government account.			☑️	☑️
8	Credit	Event resulting in fiscal information containing banking transaction completion details for any fund transferred into the government account.	☑️	☑️

Application of Fiscal Event Framework to As-Is-Processes

Budget Cycle - Overview

Budget Cycle comprises the following stages:

1. Budget Planning
2. Budget Preparation
3. Budget Approval
4. Budget Allocation
5. Budget Execution
6. Budget Accounting
7. Budget Auditing

Additionally, Budget Planning is an activity that sits outside of the Budget Cycle and takes place throughout the year based on need. Examples:

• A scheme/project announced by a state government official can happen at any point of the year, the planning for which begins right after the announcement. Thereafter, all the required approvals happen and estimates are prepared accordingly which then feed into the budget preparation phase of the budget cycle
• Planning for already approved projects and planning to get approval

Inferring Fiscal Events from As-is-Process Flows

Budget Planning

Process for Planning for the New Projects/ Schemes (for Revenue and Capital Expenditure)

# (1)	Actors (2)	Input (3)	Verb and Noun 4)	Output (5)	Attributes (6)	Does it trigger a fiscal event (7)	Fiscal Event Type (8)	Fiscal Event Sub-Type (9)	Data Attributes for iFIX (10)
1	Department/s	Announcement of the new Project/ Scheme by Chief Minister/ Department Minister	Create project/scheme	New Project/ Scheme created	Announcement Date, Place, Project/Scheme Name, Department Name, Financial Year, Announcement By	N	-	-	DPR Preparation and Approval CORE: Name of project, Type of Project, Goal & Objectives (Outcome) of the Project, Work Plan, Mode of funding, Funding Agency, Major milestones, Outputs of each activity, Cost of each Activity, Total Cost of the Project ANCILLARY: Administrative Approval Date, Approved By, Approval Remarks, Rejection Remarks,
2.	HoD	New Project/ Scheme created	Draft Detailed Project Report	Drafted DPR	Name of project, Type of Project, Goal & Objectives (Outcome) of the Project, Work Plan, Mode of funding, Funding Agency, Major milestones, Outputs of each activity, Cost of each Activity, Total Cost of the Project	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
3.	Administrative Department (AD)	Drafted DPR	Review DPR	Approved DPR	Administrative Approval Date, Approved By, Remark	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
2.	Administrative Department (AD)	Drafted DPR	Review the DPR	Rejected DPR Sent to HoD for review	Remarks for rejecting the DPR	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
4.	Chief Minister/ Department Minister	Approved DPR	Review the DPR	Approved DPR with administrative sanction	Administrative sanction date, Approved By, Remark	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
3.	Chief Minister/ Department Minister	Approved DPR	Review the DPR	Rejected DPR Sent to AD for review	Remarks for rejecting the DPR	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
5.	AD/ HoD	Approved DPR with administrative sanction	Prepare Financial sanction proposal Prepare case for financial sanction	Financial sanction proposal	Project Name, total Budget, Multi Year Plan, Financial Year, Project Start Year, Project Duration, Remark, Proposed COA, Amount	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan	Financial Sanction Preparation and Approval CORE: Name of project, Type of Project, Goal & Objectives (Outcome) of the Project, Work Plan, Mode of funding, Funding Agency, Major milestones, Outputs of each activity, Cost of each Activity, Total Cost of the Project ANCILLARY: Administrative Approval Date, Approved By, Approval Remarks, Rejection Remark
6.	FD/Planning Department	Financial sanction proposal	Review financial sanction proposal	Approved, Generate Financial Sanction	Financial Year, Sanction No., Sanction Date, Sanction Amount, COA	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
5.	FD/Planning Department	Financial sanction proposal	Review Financial Sanction	Rejected Objection sent to HoD for consideration and review	Remarks for rejecting financial proposal	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan
6.	AD/ HoD	Approved DPR with financial sanction	Prepare plan for budget provision and send to the FD via BFC	Budget provision[2] (as RE for the current fiscal year)	Department Name, Project Name, Project Amount, Financial Year, COA	Y	Capital Expenditure/ Revenue Expenditure/ Revenue Receipt/ Capital Receipt	Plan

Budget Preparation

Budget Preparation for Revenue Receipt

# (1)	Actors (2)	Input (3)	Verb and Noun 4)	Output (5)	Attributes (6)	Does it trigger a fiscal event (7)	Fiscal Event Type (8)	Fiscal Event Sub-Type (9)	Data Attributes for iFIX (10)
1.	Finance Department	Initiate budget process	Issue Budget Circular and Budget Calendar Budget Circular is issued to all departments inviting estimates of receipts and expenditure of the respective department	Budget Circular and budget calendar issued	Department name, annual receipts and expenditure estimates (BE and RE both), Demand for Grant details, Details of competent authority (BCO, DDO), dates	N	-	-	-
2.	[3]Estimating Officer / DDO/HoD	Budget Circular	Prepare revenue receipt estimates Estimating officers prepare Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY based on historic trends, projection of future demand and effect of any policy change to be formulated by the department/State	Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY created	Department Name, COA details, projection of demand (for service/goods) and associated revenue receipt - gross amount, arrears, refunds, existing rate of tariff/fee/tax, proposed change in tariff/fee/tax as sanctioned by government	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate	Inputs for Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, projection of demand and associated revenue - gross amount, arrears, refunds, ANCILLARY: Existing rate of tariff/fee/tax, proposed change in tariff/fee/tax as sanctioned by government.
3.	Estimating Officer / DDO	Budget Estimates - current FY and Revised Estimates - previous FY	Upload on IFMS	Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates uploaded on IFMS	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipt - gross amount, arrears, refunds	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate
4.	HoD	Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipt - gross amount, arrears, refunds	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate	Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipt - gross amount, arrears, refunds ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by HOD/ BCO etc.
5.	AD	Approved estimates by BCO	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipt - gross amount, arrears, refunds	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate
6.	FD	Approved estimates by AD	Constitute BFC	BFC constituted	Not Applicable	N	-	-	-
7.	BFC	Approved estimates by AD	Review estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates by BFC	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipt- gross amount, arrears, refunds	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate	State Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipts - gross amount, arrears, refunds ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by BFC, Cabinet etc. -
8a.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Consolidate budget estimates for cabinet approval FD makes any necessary changes to the received estimates and consolidate s department-wise detailed estimates	Budget documents	Department Name,COA, estimated revenue receipts	Y	Revenue Receipt	Estimate
8b.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Communicate details of finalized estimates to concerned ADs of departments for information	Consolidated department-wise estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue receipts - gross amount, arrears, refunds	N	Revenue Receipt	Estimate
9.	Finance Department	Budget documents	Prepare memorandum based on the budget documents and submit to the Cabinet for approval	Memorandum containing all budget documents	[4]Multiple Documents - Annual Financial Statement, Receipt Budget, Budget At A Glance	N	-	-	-

Budget Preparation for Revenue Expenditure

# (1)	Actors (2)	Input (3)	Verb and Noun 4)	Output (5)	Attributes (6)	Does it trigger a fiscal event (7)	Fiscal Event Type (8)	Fiscal Event Sub-Type (9)	Data Attributes for iFIX (10)
1.	Finance Department		Issue Budget Circular along with Budget Calendar Budget Circular is issued to all departments inviting estimates of expenditure (Revenue) of the respective department	Budget Circula along with budget calendar issued	Department name, annual revenue expenditure estimates (BE and RE both), Demand for Grant details, Details of competent authority (BCO, DDO), dates	N	-	-	-
2.	Estimating Officer / DDO/HoD	Budget Circular	Prepare expenditure (Revenue) estimates Estimating officers prepare Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY based on historic trends, projection of future demand and effect of any policy change to be formulated by the department/State	Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY created	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure, changes in pay scale,, no. of employee, electricity tariffs, interest rates etc,	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate	Inputs for Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure ANCILLARY: changes in pay scale,, no. of employee, electricity tariffs, interest rates etc,
3.	Estimating Officer / DDO	Budget and Revised Estimated	Upload on IFMS	Budget and Revised Estimates uploaded on IFMS	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate
4.	HoD	Budget and Revised Estimates prepared by DDO	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate	Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name,COA, estimated revenue expenditure ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by HoD, AD etc.
5.	AD	Approved estimates by HoD	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate
6.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by AD	Form Budget Finanilization Committee to scrutinize the submitted estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates by BFC	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate	State Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name,COA, estimated revenue expenditure ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by BFC, Cabinet etc.
7a.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Prepare budget documents for submission to cabinet for approval FD makes any necessary changes to the received estimates and consolidate s department-wise detailed estimates	Budget documents	Department Name,COA, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate
7b.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Communicate details of finalized estimates to concerned ADs of departments for information	Consolidated department-wise estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated revenue expenditure	Y	Revenue Expenditure	Estimate
8.	Finance Department	Budget documents	Prepare memorandum based on the budget documents and submit to the Cabinet for approval	Memorandum containing all budget documents	Multiple Documents - Annual Financial Statement, Expenditure Budget, Budget At A Glance	N	-	-	-

Budget Preparation for Capital Expenditure - Capital Outlay

# (1)	Actors (2)	Input (3)	Verb and Noun 4)	Output (5)	Attributes (6)	Does it trigger a fiscal event (7)	Fiscal Event Type (8)	Fiscal Event Sub-Type (9)	Data Attributes for iFIX (10)
1.	Planning Department		Issue planning Circular along with meeting Calendar Planning circular is issued to all departments inviting ceiling of expenditure (Project/Scheme) of the respective department	Planning Circular along with meeting calendar issued	Department Name, Meeting Date	N	-	-	-
2.	Department HoD	Discussion on ceiling for New project/Scheme	Planning Dept given the budget ceiling In the discussion, planning department define the ceiling for the budget preparation for the respective department	Defined the Budget ceiling for new project/Scheme	Department name, annual New capital/Project expenditure ceiling,, Details of competent authority (HoD, DDO), dates	N	-	-	-
3.	Finance Department		Issue Budget Circular along with Budget Calendar Budget Circular is issued to all departments inviting estimates of expenditure (capital) of the respective department	Budget Circular along with budget calendar issued Profile with all relevant details created which can be edited, enabled, disabled	Department name, annual capital outlay estimates (BE and RE both), Demand for Grant details, Details of competent authority (BCO, DDO), dates	N	-	-	-
4.	Estimating Officer / DDO/HoD	Budget Circular	Prepare expenditure (Capital) estimates under the defined ceiling by the planning dept. Estimating officers prepare Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY based on historic trends, projection of future demand and effect of any policy change to be formulated by the department/State	Budget Estimate for current FY and Revised Estimate for previous FY created	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate	Inputs for Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay ANCILLARY: None
5.	Estimating Officer / DDO	Budget and Revised Estimated	Upload on IFMS	Budget and Revised Estimates uploaded on IFMS	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate
6.	HoD	Budget and Revised Estimates prepared by DDO	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate	Department Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by HOD, BCO, Planning Department etc.
7.	AD	Approved estimates by BCO	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate
8.	Planning Department	Approved estimated by AD	Scrutinize the estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate
9.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by PD	Form Budget Finanilization Committee to scrutinize the submitted estimates	Approved/rejected/modified estimates by BFC	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate	State Level Proposed Budget CORE: Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay ANCILLARY: Remarks for cuts and modifications introduced by BFC, Cabinet etc.
10a.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Prepare budget documents for submission to cabinet for approval FD makes any necessary changes to the received estimates and consolidate department-wise detailed estimates	Budget documents	Department Name,COA, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate
10b.	Finance Department	Approved estimates by BFC	Communicate details of finalized estimates to concerned ADs of departments for information	Consolidated department-wise estimates	Department Name, COA details, estimated capital outlay	Y	Capital Expenditure	Estimate
11.	Finance Department	Budget documents	Prepare memorandum based on the budget documents and submit to the Cabinet for approval	Memorandum containing all budget documents	Multiple Documents - Annual Financial Statement, Expenditure Budget, Budget At A Glance	N	-	-	-

Budget Approval

Budget Approval from Legislature (Same process for Revenue and Capital nature Receipts and Expenditures)

# (1)	Actors (2)	Input (3)	Verb and Noun 4)	Output (5)	Attributes (6)	Does it trigger a fiscal event (7)	Fiscal Event Type (8)	Fiscal Event Sub-Type (9)	Data Attributes for iFIX (10)
1.	Finance Department	Memorandum containing all budget documents	Present to the Legislative Assembly	Budget speech of the FM	Priorities of the Government, Current status of some important existing schemes, New schemes and programmes to be launched during the ensuing year, Tax/Tariff proposals and reliefs to be granted, if any, Summary of Revised Estimates and Budget Estimates	N	-	-	-
2.	Finance Department	Memorandum containing all budget documents	General discussion on the budget as a whole and/or on any question of principle or policy involved therein	Tabling of the Budget Documents	Not Applicable	N	-	-	-
3.	Finance Department	Memorandum containing all budget documents	Vote on Demand for Grants	Voted Demand for Grants	Demand No., Department Name, COA, Amount for BE, RE and Actuals	N	-	-	-
4.	Finance Department	Demand for Grants	Introduce Appropriation Bill	Appropriation Bill		N	-	-	-
5.