ISAS Briefs

In India, a vote on account is normally considered to be an interim accounting measure that permits government departments to continue to function at the same level as at the time of the vote, without the introduction of new programmes or projects. The latter would require debate and approval of the parliament in a full debate. In India, with the general election hardly a couple of months away now, the vote on account is merely a roll-over of sanctions for expenditure for the first four months of the new year beginning April 2014 – until a new parliament and government are in place. At the same time, the vote on account gives a peep into the state of public finances, and in a way, indicates the opening balances of accounts for the next government. This year’s exercise, placed before the Indian Parliament on 17 February 2014, was no different.