MDMS Changes

Config Changes

Infra Changes

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.

• IFMS Adapter - Integration to program disburse and on-disburse APIs.

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.

• Establishing alert mechanisms for critical errors, particularly in the context of billing, is required.

• Performance testing and benchmarking of services.

Document Resources & Links

Technical Documents

High Level Design

Low Level Design

Backend Service Documents

DIGIT Exchange

Program Service

Mukta iFix Adapter

IFMS Adapter

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.

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.

curl --location 'http://localhost:8082/program-service/v1/program/_create' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
    "signature": null,
    "header": {
        "message_id": "123",
        "message_ts": "1708428280",
        "message_type": "program",
        "action": "create",
        "sender_id": "program@https://unified-dev.digit.org",
        "receiver_id": "program@https://unified-qa.digit.org"
    },
    "message": {
        "location_code": "pg.citya",
        "name": "ifix",
        "description": "Empowering local communities through sustainable development projects.",
        "start_date": 1672531200,
        "end_date": 1704067200,
        "children":null,
        "status": {
            "status_code": "INITIATED",
            "status_message": "ACTIVE"
        },
        "additional_details": {},
        "function_code": "in.pg.OGES",
        "administration_code": "in.pg.ac.HUDD.UID",
        "recipient_segment_code": "in.pg.rsc",
        "economic_segment_code": "in.pg.CE.IA.OC",
        "source_of_fund_code": "in.pg.CSS",
        "target_segment_code": null,
        "currency_code": "INR",
        "locale_code": "in.pg.citya"
    }
}'

• Configure all program codes that you created for each ULB to the MDMS.

IFMS Data Migration

• IFMS adapter data migration for mukta-adapter ad program service

  • Use this specific branch for iFix migration.

  • Update environment variables according to the environment.

  • Build the Python migration script and deploy it in the environment.

  • Port forward the service and call the API to start the migration.

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

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

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.

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.

Odisha - 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.

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,

  • optimal strategies for raising credit/debt by the government,

  • effective plans for improvements in the efficiency of public goods creation/maintenance and delivery of public services

  • factors in making direct benefits more inclusive

Reimagining PFM In India: Strategy & Approach Framework

Webinar Video

Download ebook

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.

Reference Applications

MUKTASoft

• Objective: Launched in April 2020 by HUDD Odisha

  • The scheme aims to generate sustainable livelihoods for the urban poor, while creating and maintaining climate-resilient community assets, nurturing inclusive and equitable urban development.

• Community-Centric Implementation: Bottom-up scheme design ensures community participation in identifying and prioritising public works.

  • MUKTA empowers Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) as project contractors, driving recruitment and execution and fostering community-rooted initiatives.

• Beneficiaries: Wage seekers, transgenders and women from Self-Help Groups are key recipients of the scheme’s benefits.

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 (https://www.elastic.co/)

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.

• Parallel Development: Teams can work on different layers simultaneously, accelerating development and deployment cycles.

• Security: Different security levels can be configured for each layer, enhancing overall system security.

• Independent Testing: Components can be tested independently, ensuring robustness and reliability before integration.

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.

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.

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

1. Fiscal Data Provider - posts the fiscal data into iFIX using well-defined formats.

2. Fiscal Data Consumer - can query the fiscal data.

Both these roles are interchangeable.

Registration

Providers and consumers need to register on iFIX before they can post or query fiscal data. To register the concerned person from the agency must be provided with the following information on the iFIX portal - Name of the Agency, Contact Person, Name, Contact Person’s Phone Number, and Contact Person’s Official Email Address. The OTP is sent to the registered email address of the person.

System Registration & Access Key Generation

Registered users -

• logs in to the iFIX portal using the official email address

• registers one or more systems as a provider, consumer or both

• provides the name of the system

• a unique ID is generated for each system (example: mgramseva@punjab.ifix.org)

• a secret API key is also generated for each system - use this key to post or query fiscal data

• The API key can be regenerated if required - only one API key is active at a given point in time

The portal provides the ability to generate new keys for each system.

Posting

Fiscal data providers post the fiscal data in two ways.

• A fiscal message - is directed to a specific consumer and is delivered to intended consumers. These messages are available for query by intended consumers only.

• A fiscal event - iFIX stores the events for consumers to query

Fiscal Event consists of

• Header

  1. From

  2. To

  3. Date of Posting

• Body

  1. Fiscal Event Type e.g. Revenue, Expenditure, Debt

  2. Fiscal Event Subtype

     • Revenue - Estimate, Plan, Demand, Receipt, Credit

     • Expenditure - Estimate, Plan, Bill, Payment, Debit

     • Debt - in progress - will be provided later.

  3. An array of fiscal line items

     • Amount

     • CoA

     • Location Code - from Location Registry

     • Program Code - from Program Registry

     • Project Code - from Project Registry

     • Administrative Hierarchy Code from Administrative Hierarchy Registry

     • Start Date of Period

     • End Date of Period

  4. Attachment - Attachments consist of additional attributes like key-value pairs e.g. Account Number, Correlation ID or Documents

  5. Signature - Fiscal messages can be signed by multiple agencies and add the signature to the Signature Array that contains the below-mentioned values -

     • Array of Signature

       1. System

       2. eSign - Signed Value of the Fiscal Event/Message Body using the System Key

       3. Purpose - Acknowledgement or Approval or Rejection

       4. Comments

       5. Date of Signing

Reversal

Data providers can reverse a previous fiscal message or event. The data provider reverses the data by posting the same event with a negative amount in the line item(s). The data consumers should handle reversals appropriately.

Querying

Data consumers can query fiscal data. They can query Messages - the unread messages delivered to them. When consumers read the unread messages, these messages are marked as read. Events - Consumers can also query fiscal events posted by other data providers.

Reference Data Management

1. Location

2. Administrative

3. Chart of Account

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.

Problems & Challenges

In Odisha, a lack of reliable and timely fiscal data led to delayed payments under an Urban Employment Scheme.

Solution Design

The integration facilitates the electronic exchange of fiscal and service data. The outcome is evident in enhanced trust and reliability in data exchange processes.

Benefits

The IFMS-iFIX integration streamlines financial operations by enabling Smart Contracting and Smart Payments, offering significant benefits:

1. Timely Payouts

   • Facilitates quick and accurate payments to Wage Seekers and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), ensuring no delays in disbursing funds.

2. Functional Services for Citizens

   • Ensures that essential services are maintained without disruption, contributing to improved citizen satisfaction and governance.

3. Better Fund Management

   • Implements Just-in-Time Payments, allowing the Finance Department to optimize cash flow, reduce idle funds, and ensure resources are available when needed.

This integration bridges the gap between financial planning and execution, making payments more transparent, efficient, and aligned with service delivery goals.

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.

Dependencies

DIGIT-exchange can implement any service if it has the same request structure as the program.

• Program Service

API Specifications

Base Path: /digit-exchange/

API Contract Link

API spec YAML is here. Click below to view it in Swagger Editor.

APIs

Exchange Flow

Data Model

DB Schema Diagram

Web Sequence Diagrams

Sequence of exchange between two environments

Exchange Service example of an exchange

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.

   • Additional allotment - For this type of transaction it will update the amount of existing sanction.

   • Allotment withdrawal - It deducts the transaction amount from the sanction for this type of transaction.

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.

• Before posting the PI there were multiple enrichments like bank account details, org and individual details, etc.

• After creating the PI it deducts the available balance from the funds summary.

• If a PI is created for any payment then the user can not generate a PI again till the PI fails.

• It keeps a log of each status call of PI and saves it in the DB

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

iFIX API Specification

Implemented API Specifications

Base Path: /program-service/

API Contract Link

APIs

Data Model

DB Schema

Web Sequence Diagrams

Program

Sanction

Allocation

Disbursal

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.

• Unbundled - Break down complex systems into smaller manageable and reusable parts that are evolvable and scale independently.

• Minimum - Minimum data attributes that have a well-defined purpose is mandatory; everything else is optional.

• Privacy and Security - Ensuring the privacy of citizens, employees and users while ensuring the system's security.

• Performance at Scale - The system is designed to perform at scale.

• Open Standards - The system is based on open standards, making it easy to discover, comprehend, integrate, operate and evolve.

List Of Services

• DIGIT Exchange

• Program Service

• Master Data Management (Fiscal events)

• Reference Adaptor

• Reference Dashboard (Kibana)

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

3. Adapters

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.

• Audit Trail & Observability: Tracks and stores the flow of all messages to enable full traceability and debugging capabilities across the exchange network.

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.

• Interaction with DIGIT Exchange: Valid messages are forwarded to DIGIT Exchange for further routing to external financial systems (e.g., IFMS). Invalid messages are rejected with precise error codes.

• State Management: Maintains records of program-wise amounts sanctioned, allocated, committed, and available for disbursement — enabling accurate fiscal control and audit readiness.

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.

• Reusability & Portability: Once an adapter is built for a particular system (like a state’s IFMS), it can be reused across other programs or departments, accelerating rollouts.

• Loose Coupling: Adapters ensure that changes in external systems do not impact the core iFIX services, enabling independent evolution and easier upgrades.

Sequence Diagram

ADMIN ONLY

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

• Exchange host Master Data

• IdGen Master Data

• Indexer config for push data to ES (only if indexer service is used)

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 - installation guide

• AWS account - signup

• Install AWS CLI locally - installation guide

• Postman - installation guide and import data guide

• 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 - official document

• Generate ACCESS_KEY and SECRET_KEY for the IAM user - AWS document

• Assign administrator access to the IAM user for necessary permissions.

• Set up the AWS profile locally by running the following commands:

  • aws configure --profile {profilename}

  • fill in the key values as they are prompted

    • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: <GENERATED_ACCESS_KEY>

    • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: <GENERATED_SECRET_KEY>

    • AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: ap-south-1

  • export AWS_PROFILE={profilename}

Fork GitHub Repositories

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

• DIGIT-DevOps

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

• configs

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.

• On the new page, choose the new repository secret option in repository secrets and add the following keys mentioned below:

  • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: <GENERATED_ACCESS_KEY>

  • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: <GENERATED_SECRET_KEY>

  • AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: ap-south-1

  • AWS_REGION: ap-south-1

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 - Git guide

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

   1. Git clone {forked DevOps repolink}

   2. Follow the below steps and make changes

   3. Then commit and push to the release-githubactions branch

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): https://8gwifi.org/sshfunctions.jsp

  • Method b: Use OpenSSL commands:

    • openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private_key.pem

    • ssh-keygen -y -f private_key.pem > ssh_public_key

    • To view the key run the commands or use any text editor to open the files

      • vi private_key.pem

      • vi ssh_public_key

• Once generated Navigate to config-as-code/environments

• Open egov-demo-secrets.yaml

• Search for PRIVATE KEY and replace from -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- to -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- with private_key generated (note: please make sure the private key is indented as given)

• Add the public_key to your GitHub account - Git guide

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:

aws eks update-kubeconfig --region ap-south-1 --name $CLUSTER_NAME

• Get the CNAME of the nginx-ingress-controller

kubectl get svc nginx-ingress-controller -n egov -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].hostname}'

• The output of this will be something like this:

  ae210873da6ff4c03bde2ad22e18fe04-233d3411.ap-south-1.elb.amazonaws.com

• Add the displayed CNAME to your domain provider against your domain name. e.g. GoDaddy domain provider - https://www.godaddy.com/en-in/help/add-a-cname-record-19236

Enable Filestore Service

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

export KUBE_EDITOR='code --wait'
kubectl edit deployment egov-filestore -n egov

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.

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.

• Creates disbursement, deducts available amount and forwards it to the IFMS for disbursement. On failure increases the available amount in sanction.

Deployment

Integration

/program-service/

API Spec

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.

Key Functionalities

• Signs the exchange messages and sends them to respective systems according to receiver ID and current domain.

• Verifies data received from other domains, converts it to JSON object and forwards it to the program service.

• Pushes the data to Kafka for dash-boarding and making the calls async.

• In case of any exception, send a reply to the service that initiated the call.

Deployment

Integration

/digit-exchange/

API Spec

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.

Abbreviations & Common Terms

Scope

The specifications have been defined from the lens of a sub-national government (state in the current context) and will be limited to interactions from a financial information perspective. The interactions in the scope of the current draft are:

1. State Finance Department (FD) and Central (National) Government

2. State Finance Department (FD) and Line Department(s)[1] at state

3. State Line Department’s interactions with other line departments

4. State Line Department’s interactions with government autonomous bodies including local government and/or non-government agencies

The current draft of specifications was built using publicly available information and inputs from the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), Punjab, and the Finance Department, Punjab.

Financial information-related interactions of the Central Government with other Central Line Departments are out of the scope of the current draft.

Fiscal Events-Based Approach

The broad objective of iFIX is to enable the flow of reliable and verifiable fiscal information on time. Recognizing the multiplicity of unique types of information flows in the current PFM system, iFIX aims to simplify the information flow network. The key driver of this simplification is the application of standardised formats for fiscal information exchange. To arrive at a crystallised set of formats and protocols covering all fiscal information exchanges follow the steps below:

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 numerous non-transactional events 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. For 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 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 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 the 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 well as 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.

Application of Fiscal Event Framework to As-Is-Processes

Overview of Budget Cycle

The 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)

Budget Preparation

Budget Preparation for Revenue Receipt

Budget Preparation for Capital Expenditure - Capital Outlay

Budget Approval

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

Budget Allocation

Communication and Distribution of funds (Same process for Revenue and Capital nature Expenditure)

Budget Execution

Request for Release of Funds from State Treasury - Scheme-related Capital Expenditure

Release of funds to DDO

Work awarded to the vendor

Work bill payment to the vendor

Request for Release of Funds from State Treasury - Revenue Expenditure

Collection of Revenue Receipt into the State Treasury

Request for Supplementary Grants (Same process for Revenue and Capital Expenditure)

Surrender of Excess / Savings (Same process for Revenue and Capital expenditure)

Budget Accounting

Process for monthly budget accounting/reporting for Receipts (Same Process for Revenue and Capital Receipts)

Process for monthly budget accounting/reporting -Expenditure (Same Process for Revenue and Capital Expenditure)

Budget Auditing

Process for budget auditing (have to explore if there are variations for revenue and expenditure)

Definition of Format of Fiscal Event Sub-Types

Each fiscal event extracted above will be defined in terms of

• Header

• Body

• Array of Fiscal Line Items

• Attachment

• Signature

Annexures

Annexure I

One of the key objectives of capturing the current state processes is to ensure all the variations and varieties of processes within the defined boundary are covered. In this context, certain dimensions to be kept in mind while capturing current state processes are:

Definitions

Revenue Receipts:

Revenue receipts comprise receipts that do not result in the creation of a liability for the government. The total revenue receipts include the 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.

Revenue Expenditure:

Revenue expenditure is for the normal running of different Government Departments and for rendering 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.

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.

Capital Expenditure:

Capital payments consist of capital expenditure on the acquisition of assets like land, buildings, machinery and equipment as well as investments in shares, etc., and loans and advances made by the State Government to boards, corporations and other institutions.

Type of Scheme – Central Sector, Centrally Sponsored, State Plan Scheme

Central Sector

Central sector (CS) schemes are schemes with 100% funding by the Union government and implemented by the Union Government machinery. Besides, there are some other programmes that various Ministries at the Union implement directly in States and UTs which also come under CSS. However, in the latter, the financial resources are not shifted to the States. The CS schemes are mostly formulated on subjects mainly from the Union List.

Centrally Sponsored Scheme

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) are schemes by the Union government where there is financial participation by both the Union and State governments. A stipulated percentage of the funding is provided by the States in terms of percentage contribution - it may vary in 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 75:25, or 90:10. Implementation of the CSS is the responsibility of the State/UT Governments. CSS are formulated on subjects under the State List.

State Plan Scheme

State Plan Schemes (SPS) are schemes planned, funded and implemented by State governments. SPS are formulated on subjects under the State List. At times, some existing SPS become part of the umbrella schemes (CSS or CSS) if they align with similar sectors/areas.

Type of Loan/ Debt – State Internal Debt or through GoI

Government Debt

Government debt comprises Public Debt and Public Account Liabilities. Public Debt is a component raised against the Consolidated Fund of India and included in the State Budget Document. Public Account Liabilities are raised against the Government’s Public Account comprising Small Savings, PFs, Reserve Funds etc. Public Debt comprises the following two types of loans.

Internal Debt

The state government raises debt from various sources within the country as allowed by the constitution. These debts, apart from the loans and advances received from the central government are known as internal debt of the state. The components of internal debt as per the Finance Accounts are as follows:

• Market Borrowings

• Special securities issued to the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF)

• Compensation and other bonds

• Loans from financial institutions

• Ways and means advance from RBI

• Other loans

Loans and Advances from GoI

This includes loans and advances that the states receive from the central government and the loans from International Development Partners that are on-lent by the central government to the state government.

Chart of Accounts

At present, a six-tier classification of Accounts is adopted in State Budget Documents: The budget literature prepared and presented by the Government of a State to the Legislative Assembly follows a six-tier accounting classification comprising Major Heads, Sub‐Major Heads, Minor Heads, Sub Heads, Group Heads and Object Heads. These are shown in the budget to ensure that financial transactions are recorded to the minimum detail.

• Major Heads: are the main units of accounts classification under various sectors/sub-sectors. They normally reflect the distribution of expenditure among broad functions of the government.

• Sub Major Heads: are opened under a Major Head to record those transactions which are of a distinct nature and of sufficient importance to be recorded exclusively, but at the same time allied to the function of the Major Head.

• Minor Heads: are subordinate to Major or Sub Major Heads and correspond to programmes/ broad groups of programmes undertaken to achieve objectives of the functions represented by Major Heads.

• Sub Heads represent schemes under programmes subordinate to Minor Heads.

• Group Heads represent sub-schemes under schemes and are subordinate to Sub Heads.

• Object Heads represent the actual nature and form of expenditure.

Coding pattern for the units of accounts

Under the current budget classification of the State, a 15 and 13-digit coding pattern is adopted for expenditure (with some exceptions) and receipts respectively.

Criticism of current COA: Issues in Old COA structure as per Sundaramurti Committee:

• There is opaqueness in data on transfers to states. The State-wise details of transfers, and information on releases to states under the various functional heads are not captured.

• There is a lack of standardization of scheme classification. Plan schemes are not captured uniformly at one level. Some schemes are classified at the sub-head level, some at the detailed head level, and some others at the Minor head level.

• Major Heads, which are supposed to represent government functions, do not reflect the true functional character of expenditures and do not correspond to Heads of development used in the planning and resource allocation process.

• Breakup of central transfers into constituent flows such as Finance Commission grants, Normal Central Assistance, Additional Central Assistance, Special Central Assistance etc. are not captured.

• There are emerging special requirements such as gender budgeting, and budgeting for SC/ST, North Eastern Region (NER), that are not very well catered to by the existing system.

Proposed New Chart of Account

• Administrative segment - Would need a new mapper to be created based on which it can be determined which administrative departments handle which budget codes, and would vary according to geography and time

• Programme/Scheme segment - Can be derived from Minor Head, Sub Head and Group Head of existing COA

• Recipient segment - Would need additional effort to be published at the budget estimate stage itself by way of registry

• Target segment - Would need additional effort to be published at the budget estimate stage itself by way of a registry

• Object/Economic classification - Can be derived from the Object head of existing COA but would also need

• Location - Would need additional effort to put in place location codes by way of registry

• New fields might need to be added for accrual accounting - for instance, accounts receivable and payable

Single Nodal Account (SNA)

Overview

• One bank account from which all scheme expenditure is incurred - TSA for a particular scheme

• All Implementing Agencies spend scheme funds from out-of-subsidiary accounts to SNA or through zero balance accounts linked to SNA

• Systems involved in the implementation of SNA - PFMS, State IFMS, Bank Systems

• SNA - mandatory for all Central Schemes, but States too are gradually porting their State plan schemes to PFMS and would want SNA operational for those schemes

Benefits of SNA

• Better cash and debt management

• Better reconciliation of government and bank data

• Reduces the government debt servicing cost

• Helps maximise the return on investments of surplus cash

• Enhances the overall effectiveness of the PFM system

Implementation arrangement of SNA

• The structure has been created to ensure coordination between all stakeholders

• EAT and DBT modules are the two PFMS modules relevant to SNA

• Preliminary arrangements needed for SNA implementation

  • Configuring scheme code and scheme hierarchy in PFMS

  • Mapping scheme and scheme components to IFMS CoA

  • Arrangement with scheme banks

  • Opening SNA accounts in banks

  • Registering beneficiaries/payees in PFMS

  • Release and expenditure under SNA

Key implementation issues wrt SNA

• Varying levels of maturity of different State IFMS

• Exchange of data between IFMS and PFMS, especially with respect to mapping and timing issues leading to a heavy reconciliation burden

• Integrating beneficiary database with IFMS and PFMS

• Reconciliation and closing of existing bank accounts of implementing agencies

• Disruptions to existing arrangements with banks

Annexure II- Potential Impact of iFIX on Budgetary Processes (Work in Progress)

State Finance Department Lens

Budget Planning

Budget Preparation

1. Disaggregated Previous year Budget Utilization data as input for Budget Review & Rationalization: The current process of review and rationalization of budget shared by Line Departments is driven by broad Fiscal Deficit targets and ball-park estimates of how expenditure under a particular budget head will increase or decrease. Recording each fiscal event will allow easy extraction of data

2. Outcomes/ Outputs of Budget Spent in the Previous Year by the Department as input for Budget Review & Rationalization

Budget Allocation

Budget Execution

1. Near real-time view of performance against budget

2. Use of ‘Plan’ fiscal event data to inform about admitted liabilities and expected bills with respect to long-term projects

State Line Department Lens

Budget Planning

Budget Preparation

1. Disaggregated Previous year Budget Utilization data as input for Budget Review & Rationalization: The current process of review and rationalization of budget shared by Line Departments is driven by broad Fiscal Deficit targets and ball-park estimates of how expenditure under a particular budget head will increase or decrease. Recording each fiscal event will allow easy extraction of data

2. Outcomes/ Outputs of Budget Spent in the Previous Year by the Department as input for Budget Review & Rationalization

Budget Allocation

1. A shortened time for allocation against the approved budget

Budget Execution

1. Visibility into receipts deposited into government accounts other than the State Treasury

2. Monitor Bill-Ageing

3. Near real-time view of performance against budget

Annexure III - Exploring Use Cases for Gender Budgeting using iFIX

Gender Budget - A Brief Overview

1. A gender budget, or a gender-responsive budget, is not a separate budget for women but an understanding of any form of public expenditure or revenue, or method of raising public money, from a gender perspective. Given the understanding that budgets are the constructs of specific economic, sociocultural and political contexts of any country (though prima facie it appears as gender neutral) and that there is often a lack of financial backing for gender equality policies, gender budget was proposed as a fiscal tool to translate the government’s gender commitments to fiscal commitments.

2. Gender-responsive budgeting provides the framework for undertaking this exercise, questioning the gender neutrality of budgets, and scoping the need for targeted intervention to make budgets more gender-responsive and help reduce gender inequality. Needless to say, there is a need for sex-disaggregated data and an understanding of the gender relations that would feed into each of the five stages of the budget cycle (budget planning, approval, execution, accounting, and auditing) to make gender-responsive budgeting a meaningful and fruitful exercise. A useful lens could be to question what kind of impact a fiscal tool like Gender Budget has on gender (in)equality.

Gender Budgeting in India - How are Gender Budget Statements structured?

1. The Union Government and the State Governments currently publish a Gender Budget Statement (GBS) as part of the Budget Document. The GBS is an accounting statement that presents the government’s allocation of funds and expenditure thereof on schemes substantially meant for the welfare of women and children[8]. Like most budget documents, the GBS presents the Budgeted Estimates of the current Fiscal Year (FY), Revised Estimates of the previous FY and the Actual figures of the FY previous to the last one.

2. The GBS is usually prepared and presented under two parts – (i) Part A: reflecting schemes that have 100% allocation for women and girl children, and (ii) Part B: reflecting schemes with 30% or more (and less than 100%) allocation for women and girl children[9]. The former are also called ‘Gender Specific Schemes’ and the latter ‘Gender Sensitive Schemes’. The total of the two parts constitutes the size of the total gender budget of the government. It may be noted that the schemes under Part B are often called composite schemes as their beneficiaries are expected to be across genders, and the challenge is then to identify the share of scheme expenditure that may specifically help the cause of gender equality (which is then to be reported in Part B of the GBS).

3. Various Ministries/Departments are expected to identify ongoing programmes/schemes/sub-schemes that are meant to primarily benefit women and girl children, and depending on the share of expenditure of those schemes, they are reported under Part A or Part B of the GBS. For instance, the allocation for the Janani Suraksha Yojna scheme, a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission, is reported under Part A of the GBS by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. However, a share of those schemes under the National Rural/Urban Health Mission that would benefit the entire population, including women and girl children, would be reported under Part B of the GBS depending on the share of scheme expenditure meant for women and girl children beneficiaries.

Gender Budget Statement - What are the challenges/gaps in GBS preparation?

1. Guidelines exist on how a Gender Budget needs to be prepared but there are no standard processes followed across governments. To begin with, for instance, a GBS is typically structured under Part A and Part B as mentioned in Section 2.2. Neither is this structure uniform across governments (Kerala, for instance, reports all those allocations under Part B of GBS where allocations for gender concerns in a department are less than 100 %), nor is there a standard methodology to assess which departments/ministries should report scheme related expenditure in GBS and what allocations should be made by them to address existing gender concerns.

2. Gender-disaggregated data are not readily available in most departments/ministries for the various ongoing schemes. For instance, beneficiary registries for scheme/s are often not available which can help identify if the scheme is targeted towards a particular gender or would impact one gender differently than another. As a result, gender assessment frameworks are rarely used, and reported allocations in the GBS often end up being a by-product of subjective assessments of governments and concerned stakeholders involved in the process[10].

3. The GBS rarely follows the Chart of Account (COA) structure to report allocations and expenditures of respective departments/ministries. That gender is not an attribute in the current COA is a cause of concern, but more importantly, the lack of clarity on what the GBS captures - programme or scheme or sub-scheme or detailed scheme level allocations and expenditure - is what obscures information on the real intent of the GBS. Barring a few exceptions, like Odisha GBS which reports allocations on Major Head, most GBS, including that of the Government of India, report allocations under Part and Part B while being silent on the COA. This is a challenge since compiling information for GBS then seems like an ad-hoc process with no clarity on what constitutes a Gender Budget. To the reader of the GBS, it is not clear what proportion of the total Demand for Grants of a department/ministry goes on to be reported in the GBS, and whether the gendered allocation is for the entire programme (Minor Head level) or scheme (Sub Head level) or sub-scheme (Detailed Head level). This absence of crucial information makes it difficult to slice and dice information at the aggregate and disaggregate level (hence to derive some meaningful insights) and is a major blow to overall fiscal accountability and transparency.

iFIX and Gender Budget - How can iFIX enable and support gender budgeting

1. A preliminary enquiry into the process of preparation of GBS suggests that it is an ad-hoc process with less objective and more subjective criteria involved in the same. As a result, not surprisingly, a fair amount of human effort is required to collate fiscal information for a GBS at present.

3. Before we begin to explore how iFIX can enable the stated objective, it is important to underscore that iFIX is a technology platform hence capable of handling objective and not subjective information (at least with the current architecture). This is a critical aspect to understand and appreciate since it helps define the scope of iFIX with respect to gender budgeting. Gender budgeting, even in the nascent stages it is in India as well as in the most mature forms as it is in a few countries, involves a mix of objective and subjective criteria that go into designing the same. Hence, to begin with, iFIX can enable only those elements of GBS for which objective logic forms the basis of decision-making. The hope is that iFIX, along with other reforms in public financial management, will gradually enable the generation of more (and quality) fiscal information that could feed into incorporating other subjective concerns as well in gender budgeting exercise.

4. A related aspect to consider for this exercise is that gender budgeting encompasses a variety of schemes - direct benefit schemes that are targeted for women (for instance, scholarship scheme for women); schemes targeted towards the creation/maintenance of assets that would primarily benefit women (for instance, creation of creche facility in workplaces); schemes to create gender awareness (for instance, gender sensitization in workplaces). We believe that iFIX is more suited to handle schemes of the first two kinds where beneficiary data would be available (or could be made available with the intervention by competent authorities)[11]. The gender-disaggregated data could thus feed into designing gender-specific allocations of the involved departments/ministries. Therefore, we limit the scope of this exercise to explore how iFIX can enable the generation of gender-disaggregated data for schemes of a specific nature, as elucidated above.

5. Lastly, a crucial consideration is that the nuance of gender budgeting lies in ex-ante planning and ex-post outcome analysis. Since the iFIX platform enables the exchange of fiscal information, the ex-post outcome analysis of the gender budget is out of the current scope. The utility of iFIX thus lies in enabling proper (informed) planning of gender allocations at the department/ministry level that could then feed into accounting and auditing[12].

iFIX and Gender Budget - Using the Fiscal Events-Based Approach

1. To explore how iFIX can help in the generation of gender-disaggregated data for schemes reported under Part A and Part B of the GBS, we explore what fiscal attributes and data registries would be needed.

3. The next crucial aspect is to identify whether the entire scheme is targeted towards the intended beneficiaries or a sub-scheme (or a proportion of scheme expenditure targeted towards the intended beneficiaries). This is to not just assist in accurate planning and estimation of funds (scheme being reported at the Sub Head level, and sub-scheme at the Detailed Head level in the current COA), but also to ensure that the subsequent reporting and accounting can then follow making it easier to extract the gender budget component from the overall demand for grant of the involved department/ministry, which would then be reported in the GBS. It will be a crucial factor in determining accurate identification and then reporting of schemes/sub-schemes in Part A and Part B of the GBS.

5. At this stage, we believe that it suffices to have the attributes of the scheme name and objective in the plan and estimate fiscal events, mapped to the beneficiary registry (Target Segment) to derive relevant fiscal information needed for the preparation of GBS. As stated earlier, since the execution of the budget doesn’t distinguish between gender-specific expenditure and other expenditures, no additional attributes other than those already identified for the remaining fiscal events (demand, bill, credit/debit) would be needed.

6. The fundamental role of iFIX would be to enable the planning and estimation of funds for gender-specific or gender-sensitive schemes using data available from the relevant registries. Linking the scheme to the correct beneficiary registry is the objective criterion needed to ensure that accurate gender-disaggregated data can be used to design better gender budgets. The expenditure incurred on those schemes and the subsequent accounting would then help establish the chain of custody and trace the flow of funds from planning to the accounting stage. The availability of this fiscal information across the entire budget cycle could then also facilitate gender audits.

Fiscal Events-Based Approach of iFIX - Illustrations for Part A and Part B of the GBS

1. To illustrate the approach stated above, let us consider the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Government of India's flagship programme for the achievement of the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time-bound manner. The programme is targeted towards making free and compulsory Education for Children in the 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. Hence, if one were to map the target segment, the beneficiary registry for this programme would be all eligible children (irrespective of gender) in the stated age group. However, the programme covers many schemes (and sub-schemes), some targeted primarily towards girl children. These components of the programme would be reported in the GBS, some in Part A and some in Part B. A scheme under the SSA programme, the objective of which is to construct a primary school only for girls, would ideally be reported under Part A of the GBS by the Department of Education. On the other hand, if a sub-scheme under the programme entails the construction of toilets for girl children in already existing primary schools, then such allocation should ideally be reported at the sub-scheme level and in Part B of the GBS by the Department of Education.

2. This distinction is crucial at the planning stage itself so that subsequent accounting can help report accurate expenditures in the GBS. For instance, the entire allocation and the expenditure thereof on the scheme - construction of primary school for girls - would be reported under Part A of the GBS; while the allocation and the expenditure thereof the sub-scheme - construction of toilets for girls in primary schools - would constitute only a percentage of allocation (expenditure) on the scheme (construction of primary schools). This share of expenditure on the sub-scheme that is intended to have the gendered impact (encourage retention of girls in schools, who otherwise would have dropped out of schools due to lack of toilet facilities), constitutes 30% or more of the total scheme expenditure, is what would be reported in Part B of the GBS.

3. To understand how iFIX can use objective criteria as explored above to help generate gender-disaggregated data (which in turn could feed into the design of better gender budgets) can be understood by considering the scheme examples stated above. Let us first consider the scheme reported under Part A of the GBS - construction of the primary school for girls. From the beneficiary registry of all eligible children between the age group of 6-14 years, iFIX would need to fetch the subset of intended beneficiaries for this scheme, i.e. number of girls from this registry who are eligible for primary school education. This gender-disaggregated data made available from the beneficiary registry (maintained and updated regularly by the government and other relevant authorities) is what will form the basis for a needs assessment study by the Department of Education in the planning stage. The beneficiaries' data (number of eligible girl children) along with norms like ideal student-teacher ratio, would help the department determine the number of schools to be constructed, the staffing requirements attached to it, along with the other infrastructural requirements needed to construct and run a well-equipped school. Thus, instead of relying on subjective criteria, the availability of the correct beneficiary registry can help determine the estimated budget for the scheme in a somewhat objective manner. Since this scheme is targeted entirely towards girl children, the number derived from this exercise would go on to be reported as the Budget Estimate figure for the current FY under Part A of the GBS.

4. On the other hand, for the Part B scheme - construction of toilets for girls in primary schools - the starting point again has to be the beneficiary registry. The exercise stated above has to be repeated to do a needs assessment - how many toilets need to be constructed in the schools depends on the number of female students enrolled in those schools. The subset of the beneficiary registry would again be the entry point to arrive at the allocation needed for this sub-scheme. Once this is done, needs assessment would further entail determining the cost of constructing toilets and equipping them with needed facilities. This exercise would yield an estimate that would then form the basis for arriving at the total cost of this project (sub-scheme) and obtaining necessary sanctions from competent authorities. This estimate would however be a proportion of the total scheme cost (the total cost for constructing/maintaining primary schools) and would be reported under Part B of the GBS (assuming it is at least 30 per cent of the total scheme cost).

5. The design of scheme plans and derivation of scheme estimates using the gender-disaggregated data (from the relevant registries) would then feed into the fiscal information available on iFIX. This would enable better and more accurate gender budgeting by design as the fiscal events at each stage of the budget cycle would then capture the relevant fiscal attributes which would give visibility to gender allocations in the budget. This visibility would ensure that accurate identification of schemes (or sub-schemes) can happen at the department/ministry level, accurate estimates can be prepared, and then meaningful analysis be undertaken (for instance, what proportion of the department's budget is reported in the GBS can be derived by identifying programmes, schemes and sub-schemes (the relevant COA level) from the attributes of scheme objective and target segment, or beneficiaries).

6. It is to be emphasized that the ability of iFIX to enable the generation of gender-disaggregated data and gender budgeting rests on the ability of the government department to proactively engage in objective needs assessment and maintain (and thereafter judiciously utilize) the beneficiary registry to determine the scheme estimates (or allocations) right in the planning stage and estimation stages. The organization, and the Mission team in particular, thus have to actively engage with the government departments/ministries to channel the latter’s efforts in the needed direction.

Annexure IV- Exploring Use Cases for Health using iFIX

PFM in health - a brief overview

Public health is generally a shared fiscal responsibility between centre and state in most LMICs. This also adds complexity to the way it is financed and how it affects the out-of-pocket (OOP) spending for beneficiaries.

Government expenditure on health affects Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at the end of the day, hence it is important to

Ideal budget planning should happen bottom up right from village to centre. Unfortunately, due to the paucity of time, processes, systems, and standards, it ends up happening on an incremental basis discounting the current needs of the beneficiaries.

Understanding the problem space*

*This is currently based on a few preliminary interactions we have had with ecosystem partners, our experience and existing material available on this topic. As we engage with them and deep dive into the topic, this section will be refined to capture the problems/gaps in detail.

Centre sponsored NHM

iFIX and PFM in health - How can iFIX enable and support budgeting objectives

Several siloed systems and datasets have information which can be synthesized and made available to the administration for decision-making.

For example -

1. Service delivery

   1. E.g. Number of C-sec deliveries at the facility level,

   2. Generally sits in registers or point solutions or HMIS at the facilities

2. Programmatic data

   1. E.g. epidemiological and programmatic data on malaria incidence in a particular area, number of trainings conducted

   2. Generally sits in registers, or Excels

3. Financial data

   1. E.g. amount to be spent on training, transport, HR, procurement etc

   2. Generally sits in MS Excel, point solutions, registers or paper formats, IFMIS, PFMS and other systems

   3. Key attributes - (not only NHM)

4. Health data

   1. E.g. health data of individuals stored in electronic/non-electronic formats, MCP cards, household registers etc.

   2. Generally sits in HMIS, point solutions, registers

Opportunities

1. Need to have an interface between programmatic, service delivery and financial data

2. Identify areas of potential duplication or improve efficiency

3. Review planned activities more accurately at the central level