Daily Current Affairs Notes for 02 March 2023

 

 

47th Civil Accounts Day

On March 1st, the 47th anniversary of the establishment of the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) was commemorated through the celebration of Civil Accounts Day. In 1976, the Indian Civil Accounts Service was established when the management of the Union government's accounts was separated from auditing. As a result, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was relieved of this duty.

To begin the process of separating accounts from auditing and establishing departmentalized accounts, the President issued two ordinances on March 1st, 1976: the Comptroller and Auditor General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Amendment Ordinance, 1976, and the Departmentalisation of Union Accounts (Transfer of Personnel) Ordinance, 1976. As a result, the organization celebrates its foundation day every year on March 1st.

As the primary accounting advisor to the Government of India, the Office of the Controller General of Accounts supervises the nation's payment and accounting system. This organization is responsible for promoting financial accountability through the management of accounts and assisting the executive branch with decision-making. Its objective is to establish an efficient, trustworthy, and responsible system for budgeting, payment, accounting, and pension disbursement. Moreover, it endeavors to develop a government-wide integrated financial information system and decision support system (DSS) that is robust and of global standards to cater to the needs of all ministries.

About the Indian Civil Accounts Service:

• Through the amendment of the C & AG's (Duties, Powers, and Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 1976, an Ordinance was issued to separate the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) from the Indian Audit & Accounts Service (IA & AS).
• Subsequently, the Departmentalisation of Union Accounts (Transfer of Personnel) Act, 1976 was passed and implemented on March 1st, 1976. As a result, the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) marks March 1st as "Civil Accounts Day" each year.
• The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) assists the Government of India in providing financial management services, including payment services, supporting the tax collection system, performing government-wide accounting and financial reporting functions, preparing budget estimates, and conducting internal audits in civil ministries of the Union Government.

 

The gross revenue collection from goods and services tax (GST) in February 2023 amounted to Rs 1,49,577 crore, reflecting a year-on-year increase of approximately 12%. This marks the twelfth consecutive month in which monthly GST revenue has exceeded Rs 1.4 lakh crore. In February 2022, India's GST revenue amounted to Rs 1,33,026 crore.

 

Components of The GST Collected:

The revenue collected can be broken down as follows: CGST amounts to Rs 27,662 crore, SGST amounts to Rs 34,915 crore, IGST amounts to Rs 75,069 crore (which includes Rs 35,689 crore collected from the import of goods), and the cess amounts to Rs 11,931 crore (which includes Rs 792 crore collected from the import of goods).

12% Growth Year-on-Year:

In comparison to the corresponding month of the previous year, the GST revenue for February 2023 has increased by 12%. However, it has decreased by 5% from the previous month's revenue of Rs 1,57,554 crore. Last year in February, the GST revenue was Rs 1,33,026 crore.

Highest ever Cess Collected:

In February, the revenue from the import of goods increased by 6%, and the revenue from domestic transactions (including the import of services) increased by 15%, as compared to the revenue from these sources during the same month last year. Additionally, February recorded the highest ever cess collection of Rs 11,931 crore since the implementation of GST. It is noteworthy that as February is the shortest month of the year, it typically sees a relatively lower collection of revenue.

State Wise Growth In GST Collection:

In terms of the major states, Tamil Nadu registered a growth of 19%, Karnataka 18%, Maharashtra 15%, Uttar Pradesh 14%, and Gujarat 8% in revenue collections for February.

The Total Revenue of The Government:

In February 2023, the Centre settled Rs 34,770 crore of CGST and Rs 29,054 crore of SGST from IGST as regular settlement. After regular settlements, the total revenue collected by the Centre and states was Rs 62,432 crore for CGST and Rs 63,969 crore for SGST. Moreover, the Centre also released the balance GST compensation of Rs 16,982 crore for June 2022 and Rs 16,524 crore to states/UTs that have submitted AG-certified figures for the previous period.