About Public Finance

Public finance management, or PFM, is how governments manage public expenses and revenues. It is a crucial means of ensuring the effective allocation and utilisation of public resources. The objective of a robust PFM system is to enhance fiscal transparency, resulting in improved accountability and effective resource allocation. Such a system strengthens the government's ability to deliver essential public services and maintain economic stability, leading to long-term benefits in public welfare and economic growth outcomes.

iFIX or integrated Fiscal Exchange solution is designed to address the challenges facing public finance management. iFIX is a set of open-source specifications that establishes a standardised language for finance and line departments to interoperate. iFIX is a digital public infrastructure (DPI) that aims to facilitate seamless electronic information exchange for effective digital public financial management. The solution enables connected applications to exchange standardised fiscal events e.g. Demand, Receipts, Bills, and Payments. The fiscal event consists of attributes explaining the details of why, who, what, where and when it happened.

Useful Links

Contact Us

Here are the test cases for Program Service, Digit Exchange, Mukta-ifix-adapter.

With the iFIX v2.4-alpha update, some of the DIGIT core services also need to be deployed. The builds of the same are also listed below. These have been picked from DIGIT-v2.8.

Program Creation

After installation of all required services, port-forward the program service and create programs for each ULB. A sample curl is added below.

Release Summary

IFIX 2.4 is a new release that offers new features and functions, the details of which are provided below.

Functional changes

• DIGIT Exchange - This service offers the capability to exchange data while ensuring it is signed.

• Program Service - This facilitates the creation of programs, sanctions, allocations, and disbursements.

• MUKTA iFIX Adapter - This transforms data from Mukta payment to program disbursement.

Non-functional changes

NA

New ‌Feature Additions

Known Issues

• If Kafka malfunctions, data will be directed to the error queue, necessitating manual processing until an error queue handler is developed.

• If the disbursement status is set to be SUCCESSFUL then it should not be changed to INITIATED again for the disbursement id.

• As per IFMS guidelines, if a transaction fails, the amount is deducted and if a revised payment is not generated within 90 days, the amount should be deducted again.

Document Resources & Links

Technical Documents

Backend Service Documents

Public Finance Management Challenges

Public finance management is becoming an increasingly complex discipline owing to the compounding effects of socio-economic, technological, and institutional factors. The key challenge stems from the need to manage public funds in a transparent, efficient and accountable manner.

The iFIX helps address the following challenges linked to the information on government fiscal programmes -

• Unlocking fiscal and operational data locked in silos

• Generating relevant information based on common data standards

• Ensuring the information generated is credible, reliable and verifiable

• Accelerating fund flows by providing trusted, usable data and reducing the interdepartmental coordination time

Fiscal Information Exchange (iFIX)

The existing public finance system applies multiple information channel flows that are unique and can be accessed by various sources. iFIX simplifies the network and fiscal information flows through standardised formats and protocols.

Need For iFIX

As government service delivery requires multiple actors and interactions to come together across different levels, visibility of information is critical to bring down the cost of coordination. This includes real-time information on the financial health of a government agency/department - expenditure, revenue and availability of funds.

Public finance management faces significant challenges in terms of promoting accountability and transparency. The problem is more on account of siloed information structures that restrict the scope to get a broader view of the flow of funds or data across agencies and stakeholders.

The information flow is slow and limited, resulting in several gaps and breaks in the PFM processes. This is essentially attributed to the lack of information standards and exchange mechanisms, making it difficult to achieve a seamless data flow across agencies.

iFIX allows departments to share fiscal information from existing systems without having to invest in multiple integrations for different stakeholder requirements. The solution plays a pivotal role in driving efficient and performance-driven financial planning across all levels of governance. Real-time availability of financial information to stakeholders facilitates data-driven deployment of public funds and policy-making. The solution design specification sets the base for the real-time exchange of fiscal information across funding and implementing agencies.

Scope

iFIX identifies and resolves Public Financial Management issues like delays in funds flow, floating of unutilised funds, problems of low data fidelity, the administrative burden of implementation and outcome-oriented funding using the platform approach and associated policy reforms.

The platform helps achieve overall fiscal discipline, allocation of resources to priority needs and efficient and effective allocation of public services. Public financial management includes all phases of the budget cycle, including the preparation of the budget, internal control and audit, procurement, monitoring and reporting arrangements, and external audit.

Objectives

The standardised fiscal event and exchange mechanism enable various government agencies e.g. various departments, local governments, autonomous bodies, national government, and development agencies to -

• exchange fiscal data much like email systems exchange data with each other

• ease flow of fiscal information resulting in better planning, better execution, better accounting and better auditing thus transforming the entire PFM cycle

• promote transparency and improve accountability while ensuring real-time access to the financial health of the government stakeholders

Approach

iFIX offers a solution that standardises fiscal event data and the capabilities to exchange information across multiple sources. It is built as a digital public good and is open source with minimal specifications. The design incorporates the security and privacy of all data and users and ensures performance at scale.

Data standards streamline the flow of information paving the way for timely exchange and cost-effective means of managing fiscal events. The iFIX solution establishes the standards and specifications for fiscal event data that make it easier to exchange fiscal information between funding and implementing agencies. Event data is captured in real-time and at the micro level which ensures there is no intentional or unintentional data loss. Any transaction triggers a fiscal event that is accessible to integrated agencies for necessary approvals.

The standardized data exchange approach ensures that iFIX is not a replacement for the existing finance system. It is just a coordination and visibility layer between agencies within government and across governments.

MDMS Changes

Config Changes

Infra Changes

List Of Services

• DIGIT Exchange

• Program Service

• Master Data Management (Fiscal events)

• Reference Adaptor

• Reference Dashboard (Kibana)

Reimagining PFM In India: Strategy & Approach Framework

Webinar Video

Download ebook

Public Finance Management (PFM) Exemplars In Punjab & Odisha

The iFIX platform has demonstrated its transformative potential through multiple reference applications designed to address critical challenges in public finance management (PFM). These applications, or exemplars, enhance fiscal management capabilities by providing real-time visibility and resolving inefficiencies in project-related financial processes.

In Punjab - the mGramSeva exemplar streamlines the information exchange across multiple agencies, fostering improved coordination and efficiency.

- faced significant challenges in implementing schemes, particularly delayed payments to Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and wage seekers. The delays primarily stemmed from labour-intensive, paper-based compliance, billing, and verification processes. MUKTASoft, an iFIX-based exemplar, aims to digitize and streamline the end-to-end process, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and timely payments.

These exemplars showcase the versatility and impact of the iFIX platform in transforming public finance management for improved governance and service delivery.

1. Java 17 (https://www.oracle.com/in/java/technologies/downloads/#java17)

2. Apache Kafka (https://kafka.apache.org/)

3. Postgres (https://www.postgresql.org/)

4. Elastic-search ()

A digital solution for governing bodies to manage public finance.

• The iFIX solution provides a standardized framework allowing central governance bodies, state finance departments, and private institutions to institutionalize fiscal events, ensuring interoperability across multiple government tiers.

• Onboard state or federal units and create their instances for streamlined management of public finance initiatives.

• Access to real-time data on the system results in effective and faster decision-making.

• Establish benchmarks for efficient implementation and improvement in service delivery.

• Integrate the iFIX solution to expand capabilities in managing fiscal events at various levels, and reduce processing time and administrative burden linked to public finance transactions.

• Develop new models that can address various concerns, including -

  • fiscal discipline and sustainability at all levels of government,

  • effective resourcing for responding to emergencies and disasters,

Overview

Delayed payments to CBOs and wage seekers were a key scheme implementation challenge. Beneficiaries faced lengthy wait times, with a baseline study across two pilot urban local bodies (ULBs) finding that over 50% of completed tasks were not processed for payment, and the rest encountered delays exceeding one month. Wage seekers come from low-income households, and such delays undermine the scheme’s welfare objectives.

Such delays arise largely from cumbersome, paper-based compliances, billing, and verification processes. Every step – from attendance tracking and bill submission to verification, approvals, and payment instructions – relied on manual processes. This increases the administrative burden on local government personnel, who are often already overburdened. These long-drawn processes also resulted in underutilisation of sanctioned funding, with funds parked idle in banks and limited transparency.

Overview

MUKTASoft is an exemplar built on the Works platform. MUKTASoft aims to improve the overall scheme efficiency of MUKTA by identifying & providing equal job opportunities to the urban poor, constructing environment-friendly projects, developing local communities and slums & planning better in the upcoming years.

Click the link below to explore the application features, configuration details and user guides.

Overview

The DIGIT Exchange Service is a robust data interchange platform designed to facilitate the seamless and secure exchange of digital information between two endpoints. Built with a fixed schema for headers and dynamic messaging capabilities, this service ensures reliable communication while prioritizing data integrity and confidentiality.

Overview

DIGIT Exchange functions as a connector bridging services deployed across diverse domains. Its primary role involves signing and verifying exchange messages and generating events for ingestion into Elasticsearch for dashboard visualisation.

The iFIX solution design is built as a Digital Public Good and follows a key set of design principles listed below.

• Single Source of Truth - Data resides in multiple systems across departments and getting an integrated, consistent and disaggregated view of data is imperative.

• Federated - Central, State and Local Governments represent the federated structure of government. This federated structure must be considered when designing systems that enable intergovernmental information exchange.

ADMIN ONLY

Before the iFIX platform can be used, the master data must be configured directly into the respective collections.

Public Finance involves the efficient management of public resources, ensuring transparency, accountability, and the effective use of funds. The iFIX solution offers multiple public finance use cases listed below:

1. Revenue collection - The solution offers features designed to streamline the collection of various municipal taxes including property tax, water charges, trade license fees, miscellaneous user charges and fee collection. mGramSeva launched by the Punjab government exemplifies the digitalisation of revenue and expenditure management at the rural governance level.

2. Benefit deliveries - The iFIX solution is capable of managing programs designed for social or economic benefits, wage disbursal, empowering Self-Help Groups or SHGs, and activities linked to community building or development. MUKTASoft is one such program launched by the Orissa government to employ the urban poor through various schemes.

3. Fund transfer and payments - Another important use case involves managing cash flow between different government departments, ministries, and projects, ensuring timely payments. The solution offers the scope to utilise the Just In Time (JIT) funding approach to ensure funds are disbursed only when required. The results are visible in improved fiscal discipline, better accountability, and a streamlined fiscal approach leading to better governance outcomes.

4. Procurement and contract management - iFIX enables the implementation of procurement policies that ensure competitive bidding and streamline the disbursal and utilisation of public funds. It also supports features to manage contracts with private vendors for government projects to ensure timely and cost-effective completion.

5. Budgeting and expenditure management - The iFIX solution offers the capability to prepare project estimates, forecast financials, and manage resource allocation details.

The Fiscal Information Exchange (iFIX) platform employs a hexagonal architecture, also known as the Ports and Adapters pattern, to facilitate seamless and standardized fiscal data exchange among various government entities. This architectural approach ensures that the core business logic remains isolated from external systems and technologies, enhancing flexibility and maintainability.

Key Components of iFIX Architecture

1. DIGIT Exchange

2. Program Service

DIGIT Exchange

DIGIT Exchange acts as the secure and trusted bridge between independently deployed systems that need to communicate fiscal data. It ensures data integrity, non-repudiation, and secure transmission between producers (like program services) and consumers (like IFMS or auditing tools).

Core Responsibilities:

• Message Authentication & Signing: Ensures that all outgoing and incoming messages are cryptographically signed and verified, preventing tampering and ensuring authenticity.

• Event Publishing: Each successfully exchanged message is logged as an event. These events are published to Kafka and pushed to Elasticsearch to support operational dashboards and real-time monitoring.

• Interoperability Backbone: DIGIT Exchange makes it possible for different organizations or departments to operate independent systems while still collaborating and sharing data securely.

Program Service

The Program Service is the domain-specific core service within iFIX that manages fiscal operations — including sanctions, allocations, and disbursements — under defined financial programs.

Key Features & Responsibilities:

• Program Definition: Allows administrators to define “programs” — logical boundaries for budget and fund flow such as health campaigns, infrastructure projects, or welfare schemes.

• Transaction Management: Each fiscal transaction (e.g., allocation or disbursement) is linked to a program and governed by its lifecycle.

• Validation & Business Rules: All incoming messages from the adapter are validated against business rules. This ensures that transactions are complete, legitimate, and follow the proper hierarchy of approval.

Adapters

Adapters are the integration glue of the iFIX ecosystem. They decouple the internal working of iFIX from the unique data formats, protocols, and workflows of external systems.

There are two types of adapters:

1. Producer Adapter: Sits on the side of a department or donor system that generates fiscal data.

2. Consumer Adapter: Placed at the system which is the recipient of fiscal data (e.g., an IFMS or treasury system).

Core Functions & Advantages:

• Data Transformation & Mapping: Converts messages between iFIX’s standardized fiscal event format and the target system’s native format (e.g., XML, JSON, SOAP). This ensures seamless compatibility regardless of the external system’s design.

• System-Agnostic Integration: Adapters can be easily configured or extended to integrate iFIX with any kind of system, including legacy platforms, ERP solutions, MIS dashboards, or financial gateways.

• Validation & Enrichment: Adapters can enrich messages (e.g., attaching metadata) or perform pre-validation before sending data to core services or external endpoints.

Sequence Diagram

The Fiscal Information Exchange (iFIX) platform is an open-source solution designed to standardize and streamline the exchange of fiscal data among various government agencies, funding bodies, and implementing organizations. Built on the DIGIT platform, iFIX facilitates real-time, seamless communication of financial information, enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public finance management.

Key Architecture Highlights

• Distributed Reference Data Management: Each department or agency can host its own instance of the iFIX platform, maintaining autonomy over its fiscal data while adhering to standardized protocols for data exchange. This distributed approach ensures that departments manage their own data, reducing bottlenecks and enhancing data accuracy.

• Microservices-Based Architecture: Leveraging a microservices design, iFIX ensures that each component operates independently, promoting scalability, flexibility, and ease of maintenance. This modular approach allows for the seamless addition or modification of services without disrupting the entire system.

• Seamless Integration with External Systems: The platform employs adapters to connect with various external agency systems, facilitating the smooth transmission and reception of fiscal data. These adapters ensure compatibility with existing systems, minimizing the need for extensive overhauls.

• Enhanced Security and Reliability: iFIX incorporates multiple layers of security—ensuring data integrity, authentication, and secure data transmission—while its redundant design and failover mechanisms guarantee continuous operation in mission-critical environments.

• Flexible Deployment Options: Whether deployed on-premises, within a private cloud, or via a hybrid model, iFIX is designed to meet various infrastructure and performance requirements. This flexibility allows organizations to choose deployment strategies that align with their technical capabilities and policy requirements.

Multi-Layer Architecture

iFIX adopts a multi-layered, distributed architecture pattern, ensuring flexibility, maintainability, and scalability. Each layer comprises a set of microservices with specific roles and responsibilities, facilitating independent deployment, maintenance, and updates. This design enhances interoperability and allows for parallel development and testing.

Advantages of the Layered Architecture:

• Flexibility and Maintainability: Components can be updated or replaced independently, reducing system downtime and simplifying maintenance.

• Scalability: Each layer can be scaled independently to accommodate increasing loads or additional functionalities.

• Reusability: Components can be reused across different applications, promoting consistency and reducing development time.

This multi-layer architecture ensures that iFIX serves as a robust and adaptable platform for modernizing public finance management, aligning with strategic goals of transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

• Article On Fiscal Information Exchange Platform

Punjab to build first of its kind fiscal information exchange platform https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/punjab-to-build-first-of-its-kind-fiscal-information-exchange-platform/article33642970.ece

• mGramSeva App News

Punjab villages are now utilizing the mGramSeva app to conveniently pay their water bills. Developed on the DIGIT platform, mGramSeva is a mobile application specifically designed to handle the collection and management of revenue and expenditures.

Below are the shared snippets of this news.

1. Dainik Bhaskar dated 02-06-2023

1. RozanaSpokesman dated 02-06-2023

1. Jag Bani dated 02-06-2023

Overview

Program service handles all the financial transactions like sanction management, fund allocation, and disbursement of funds.

Users can establish programs within which these transactions take place. It receives messages from the adapter service, validates them and forwards them to digit-exchange for sending it to the IFMS system. In case of any validation failure, it responds with an error status and message. Additionally, the service maintains records of sanctioned, allocated, and available amounts for disbursement.

Dependencies

• DIGIT Exchange

• MDMS Service

• IdGen Service

Key Functionalities

• Creates Program for enabling further financial transactions.

• Creates on-sanction when a sanction is received from the IFMS system. Maintains allocated and available amount for disbursal for a particular sanction. Forwards the sanction to the client-server.

• Creates on-allocation when allocations are received from the IFMS system. Updates the allocated and available amount for the given sanction. Forwards the allocation to the client-server.

Deployment

Integration

/program-service/

API Spec

Overview

The MUKTA iFIX Adapter service is designed to facilitate communication between the Expense Service and the Program Service. It acts as a mediator, listening for payment creation events from the Expense Service, enriching the payment request data, and generating disbursement requests. These disbursement requests are then sent to the Program Service for further processing.

Horses, Manure & Platforms - The Context

"In 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure". The Times reported in 1894. At that time the city of London primarily commuted through horse carts and had 50000 horses that each produced 15-35 pounds of manure. This was a health nightmare for the city administration.

In 1834, Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci built the first gas-based internal combustion engine. By 1879, Carl Benz demonstrated his one-cylinder two-stroke unit built on a gas engine. By 1904, the UK was developing a motor vehicle act requiring drivers to have a license, enforcing speed limits, and penalties for reckless driving. Today, the number of registered vehicles across the world is nearing 1.5 billion. London has 2.5 million of these and the city is not covered in manure.

Overview

The Program Service is constructed using iFIX specifications and serves as an extensive platform aimed at simplifying program creation, sanction management, fund allocation, and disbursement execution. It equips organizations with essential tools to effectively oversee available funds and guarantee transparent and accountable distribution to designated beneficiaries.

Functional Overview

Funds Summary

1. IFMS adapter manages funds summary based on the head of accounts and SSU codes. It creates sanctions for each head of accounts and SSU details based on ULB tenant ID.

2. Three types of transactions can be received from the JIT VA API -

   • Initial Allotment - A new sanction will be created only if AllotmentTxnType is Initial Allotment.

Payment Instructions

• When a bill is approved this service creates payment using the expense service.

• Some consumers keep listening to the payment create Kafka topic and generate payment instructions (PI) using payment and bill details and post the PI to the IFMS system using JIT API.

• A new PI will be generated when enough funds are available for any head of accounts for that tenantId.

Program Service takes care of Program, Sanction, Allocation and Disbursement using the standardized exchange interface.

iFIX API Specification

API spec Click below to view it in Swagger Editor.

Implemented API Specifications

Base Path: /program-service/

API Contract Link

API spec Click below to view it in Swagger Editor.

APIs

Data Model

DB Schema

Web Sequence Diagrams

Program

Sanction

Allocation

Disbursal

Overview

iFIX Adapters & Dashboards is a fiscal data exchange solution that enables the exchange of standardized fiscal data between various agencies. iFIX is designed to enable the exchange of fiscal data between various agencies and ensure the visibility of fiscal data. iFIX makes it possible to chain the fiscal data with each other and establish a chain of custody for the entire lifecycle from budgeting to accounting.

From the iFIX perspective, there are two types of agencies

Reimagining Digital Public Financial Management: Harnessing Information Exchange For Citizen-Centric Service Delivery

Over the last two decades, the evolving landscape of public financial management (PFM) has witnessed a remarkable transformation brought about by government agencies adopting technology to perform their duties. The State Finance Departments, through their Integrated Financial Management Information Systems/ Comprehensive Financial Management Systems (IFMIS/CFMS), have set the precedent for others to follow. These digital platforms have successfully harnessed vertical efficiency gains within government departments, leading to benefits in cash management, accounting, streamlining revenue, expenditure, and payments, and improved fiscal accountability.

Background

How far would a dollar go if it went straight to someone in need, when they need it most? With government-to-person (G2P) payments, governments increasingly disburse welfare benefits directly to individuals or households. These high-volume, low-ticket-size G2P transactions are vital for boosting financial inclusion and empowering vulnerable communities. Globally, programs like Brazil’s Bolsa Familia and Zambia’s SWL report cost savings, leak reduction, and timely payments for grant recipients through digital payments. In India, financial inclusion has been boosted through Jan Dhan bank accounts, the use of Aadhar for identity verification, and mobile payments applications enabled by UPI, creating the possibility for government schemes to incorporate Direct Benefits Transfers (DBT).

While promising, digital G2P payments remain in their early stages, and face challenges like friction in payments, information gaps, and contextual barriers. The MUKTA scheme, in the state of Odisha in India, is an example of multi-stakeholder collaboration to reengineer digital systems and government policies and processes to operationalise digitally-enabled Smart Contracting and Just-in-Time Funding Systems (JiT-FS). This has led to enhanced reach, improved observability, and a clear understanding of performance bottlenecks, empowering stakeholders to continuously refine and optimise the system.

Admirable Goal, Administrative Friction

MUKTA is a pioneering initiative, designed to generate wage employment for vulnerable workers in urban Odisha during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rooted in community needs and responsive to local demands, MUKTA leverages existing Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to execute public works projects which are sustainable and climate resilient. These CBOs enlist wage seekers to work on these projects, generating income for the latter.

Delayed payments to CBOs and wage seekers were a key scheme implementation challenge. Beneficiaries faced lengthy wait times, with a baseline study across two pilot Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) finding that over 50% of completed tasks were not processed for payment, and the rest encountered delays exceeding one month. Wage seekers come from low-income households, and such delays undermine the scheme’s welfare objectives.

Such delays arise largely from cumbersome, paper-based compliances, billing, and verification processes. Every step – from attendance tracking and bill submission, to verification, approvals, and payment instructions – relied on manual processes. This increased the administrative burden on local government personnel, who are often already overburdened. These long-drawn processes also resulted in underutilisation of sanctioned funding, with funds parked idle in banks and limited transparency.

Making Processes And Payments Smarter

These challenges threatened to undermine MUKTA's goals. It was clear that a transformative intervention was required. To address these challenges, MUKTA embraced a three-phase "Smart Payment" approach:

Discovery: Identifying Pivotal Problems in Scheme Implementation

Extensive consultations with stakeholders at each tier of government – Finance Department (FD), Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department, local government officials, and CBO representatives – helped identify key requirements for completing payments under the MUKTA scheme, and administrative inefficiencies that prevented timely completion.

Such schemes require multi-entity coordination: project definition, estimate creation, progress monitoring, and bill approval take place at the local government level; sanctioning overall fund tranches and executing electronic payments is done by the State government. A first step in the solution was identifying what information was needed for the State to disburse payments, and how it could be communicated most efficiently. Existing Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and Public Finance Management System (PFMS) data standards were leveraged to develop functional requirement specifications, leading to the development of a two-part solution: , which streamlines processes and reporting by scheme implementers, and JiT-FS (Just-in-Time Funding System), which simplifies and speeds up fund disbursal.

Design: Developing Solutions and Proposing Reforms

MUKTASoft is a workfare scheme management platform, which streamlines project management and information flow among CBOs, local government bodies, H&UD, and FD. The expedited flow of standardised project information is key to reducing delays in payments. Key operational components of MUKTASoft include project finalisation, wage-seeker registration, digital attendance tracking, expense logging, and payment verification, all streamlined through user-friendly interfaces for different sets of users (CBO, ULB official, etc.)

Keeping in mind the administrative burden-related challenges identified, MUKTASoft was designed to improve overall efficiency of local and state government officials by:

• Simplifying the process of project progress tracking and wage payment approval, aiming to move from over twelve steps (as identified in the baseline) to a simple three-step (maker-checker-approver) approach for each key document.

• Enhancing visibility of project progress or delays in payments, ensuring that the responsible authority/ individual takes accountability for these, and enabling them to take steps to resolve these.

• Enabling faster payments to wage seekers using smart payments through direct integration with the state IFMS

Aligning project management and scheme verifications sets the stage for integrating smart payments, utilising digital technologies such as JiT-FS for pull-based release of funds once project milestones are achieved. Core PFM principles like "single source of truth" (ensuring data accuracy), "observability" (real-time tracking of performance), and "minimising administrative burden" through smart contracts have been woven into the design of both MUKTASoft and JiT-FS, strengthening transparency, accountability, and efficiency.

Deployment: Orchestrating a Seamless Implementation

The implementation phase required managing multiple dependencies. One of the fundamental challenges was building trust and reliability in the solution, to replace manual ways of working, by showcasing high success rates. The deployment timeline faced disruptions, and development hurdles were common initially – as is typical when new systems are integrating for the first time. Collaborative testing uncovered edge cases affecting transaction success rates, and a robust User Testing phase helped to validate various scenarios and user needs.

Checks and balances within MUKTASoft and the JiT module were introduced and implemented to address these emerging issues. For instance, at the project finalisation stage, MUKTASoft checks for availability of funds to cover the expenses of that project. This sanction validation establishes a spending ceiling before approval of projects or payments – a key control that the State Finance Department must maintain. Similarly, when payments are directly transferred to wage-seekers' bank accounts, each transaction's success or failure must be checked, and corrective measures taken where payments have failed to go through.

Local governments, while initially hesitant, saw that using MUKTASoft for project creation, estimate approval, and work orders had tangible benefits: reduced administrative burden, fewer delays, faster payments, and enhanced accountability. With clear demonstration of the value to all stakeholders, adoption of the solution became more universal.

Maximising Impact: Outcomes Of Successful Deployment

• Reduced delays: Digitising processes from attendance tracking to payment verification dramatically streamlined workflows, facilitating disbursement of payments to wage seekers and CBOs. Pilot data indicates around 60% reduction in payment disbursement time for wage seekers. Under the new system, beneficiaries are no longer waiting months to get paid, with most bills now being processed in a matter of days.

• Enhanced efficiency: Automation freed up local government officials from administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on project management and monitoring, leading to improved project execution and resource utilisation.

• Transparency and data-driven decision making: The integrated data platform enabled real-time tracking of project progress, expenditure, and beneficiary coverage, enhancing transparency and accountability for all stakeholders. For administrators, insights from real-time data facilitated informed decision-making, allowing for quicker identification and resolution of bottlenecks, and strategic allocation of constrained resources.

Lessons Learned

With the pilot successful in 2 ULBs, the system is now being scaled to a total of 25 (out of 115) Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Odisha. MUKTA's journey offers valuable lessons for other G2P initiatives seeking to leverage technology for efficient PFM and inclusive development:

• Existing infrastructure matters: Enrolment of wage seekers is simplified by using Aadhaar for identity verification. With Aadhaar in turn linked to Jan Dhan accounts, mapping of wage seekers to bank accounts is already in place. Widespread use of UPI addresses concerns around cash in / cash out. MUKTASoft and JIT-FS are a new wave of innovations, relying on building blocks provided by IndiaStack and related reforms.

• Process streamlining is a key lever for any tech-enabled reform: When workflows are digitised, with automation and minimised manual intervention, the time and effort users have to spend on administrative tasks decreases, and they can focus on tasks that require human interaction or attention. At the same time, the reliability and timeliness of data improves, enabling administrators to better manage performance, and policy makers to develop data-driven plans and strategies.

By adopting these lessons and building upon MUKTA's success, other G2P programs can unlock the transformative potential of technology to deliver effective social safety nets and empower vulnerable communities across the globe.

Smart Payments As A Catalyst For Inclusive Development

The early success observed with smart payments for the MUKTA scheme underscores the transformative potential of technology in G2P transactions to reduce delays in service delivery and heighten public finance efficiency. It serves as a model for government agencies, prompting them to adopt Smart Payments as a catalyst for inclusive development.

Odisha's journey sets a model for an efficient and citizen-centric benefit delivery system, emphasising the need for adaptive strategies, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to governance principles. Tailored to the local context, the solution can progress from basic Smart Payments, encompassing digital recording of conditional payments and compliances, to a medium level incorporating workflow management systems and APIs. The ultimate moonshot solution integrates AI/ML models, smart devices, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) to revolutionise the public finance landscape.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing iFIX using GitHub Actions in an AWS environment.

Pre-requisites

• Github account - signup

• Kubectl installed in the system -

• AWS account -

• Install AWS CLI locally -

• Postman - and

• A domain host - (example: GoDaddy to configure your server to a domain)

Install

• Prepare AWS IAM User

• Create an IAM User in your AWS account -

• Generate ACCESS_KEY and SECRET_KEY for the IAM user -

Fork GitHub Repositories

Fork the following repositories with all the branches into your organisation account on :

• (We do not need the master data repo since we are using the MDMS-v2 by default with data seeded)

Add AWS Keys To Repository

Go to the forked DIGIT-DevOps repository:

• Navigate to the repository settings.

• Go to Secrets and Variables.

• Click on the actions options below secrets and variables.

Repository Changes

• Navigate to the release-githubactions branch in the forked DevOps repository.

• Enable GitHub Actions.

  • Click on Actions, then click on "I understand my workflows, go ahead and enable them":

Edit GitHub Files - Steps

• The following steps can be done directly in the browser or the local system if you are familiar with Git usage.

• Before following any of the steps switch to the release-githubactions branch.

1. Steps to edit the git repository in the browser -

2. Steps to edit in the local system if you are familiar with Git basics:

   1. Git clone {forked DevOps repolink}

Replace Master & Configuration Repositories

• Navigate to egov-demo.yaml (config-as-code/environments/egov-demo.yaml).

• Under the egov-persister: change the gitsync link of the configs repository to the forked config repository and the branch to UNIFIED-DEV.

• Under the egov-indexer: change the gitsync link of the configs repository to the forked config repository and the branch to UNIFIED-DEV.

Configure Infrastructure-as-code

• Navigate to infra-as-code/terraform/sample-aws.

• Open input.yaml and enter details such as domain_name, cluster_name, bucket_name, and db_name.

Configure iFIX Chart Version

• Navigate to file deploy-as-code/deployer/digit_installer.go

• Search for ifix-demo in the file and check for health-demo-vX.X

• Change the version to v1.1-> ifix-demo-v1.1

Configure Application Secrets

• Generate SSH key pair.

• How to Generate SSH Key Pair - choose one of the following methods to generate an SSH key pair:

  • Method a: Use an online website. (Note: This is not recommended for production setups, only for demo purposes):

Finalise Installation

• Once all details are entered, push these changes to the remote GitHub repository. Open the Actions tab in your GitHub account to view the workflow. You should see that the workflow has started, and the pipelines are completed successfully.

Configure Domain Name

• Connect to the Kubernetes cluster, from your local machine by using the following command:

• Get the CNAME of the nginx-ingress-controller

• The output of this will be something like this:

• Add the displayed CNAME to your domain provider against your domain name. e.g. GoDaddy domain provider -

Enable Filestore Service

After connecting to the Kubernetes cluster, edit the deployment of the FileStore service using the following command:

The deployment.yaml for Filestore Service will open in VS Code, add the aws key and secret key provided to you in the way shown below:

Close the deployment.yaml file opened in your VS Code editor and the deployment will be updated.