New Delhi Mar 28 PTI Refuting TDPs charge of misappropriation of about Rs 48000 crore in Andhra Pradesh during the 2020-21 fiscal state Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy on Monday said the government did not spent this amount but only made book adjustments because of a faulty financial software introduced by the previous regime Speaking to reporters here Reddy said the current YSRCP government could not make entries of 600-odd bills for an amount of about Rs 48000 crore due to programming errors in the Comprehensive Finance Management System CFMS The CFMS was introduced in 2018 when the TDP was in power to ensure accountability on all payments and track the flow of funds in government departments There were errors in the CFMS as the previous government introduced it hurriedly in 2018 with a private person as CFO Since there were no options in the software to enter certain heads we made only book adjustments There was no fraud and no cash transaction took place Reddy said Asked why his government took such a long time to identify the defects in the CFMS he said Earlier the CFMS was managed by a private person Our government appointed an IAS officer and took time to figure out the loopholes in the system When you are driving on a new road you wont know where the speed breakers would be As soon as the faults were identified the government began to rectify them and more than 80 per cent of errors have been fixed now Reddy said Asked if the Comptroller and Auditor General CAG was informed about the faulty software the finance minister said the government gave clarifications to all the objections raised by it and there may have been some delay by the time the CAG report on accounts was finalised The state finance secretary has written an explanatory letter to the CAG in this regard he added The CAG report on the accounts was presented to the legislature on March 25 Reddy said when the TDP was in power it had also made a book adjustment transaction towards the end of the financial year 2018-19 Last week the TDP had asked the Centre to invoke Article 360 of the Constitution and clamp financial emergency in Andhra Pradesh to protect it from the alleged gross mismanagement by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy regime PTI LUX LUX ANB ANB

New Delhi Feb 23 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged people to visit border villages to impart a degree of vibrancy to sparsely populated regions along the countrys frontiersAddressing a webinar on the impact of Budget on Rural Development the prime minister also called for convergence of efforts to ensure 100 per cent implementation of the announcements made in the Union budget within the given time-frameBudget has given a clear roadmap for achieving the goal of saturation of government development schemes benefits and how basic amenities can reach cent percent population he said addressing the webinar on the theme Leaving no Citizen BehindHe suggested touring border villages and organising tehsil level competitions in such hamlets to make them more vibrantCan we tour border villages spend a night there experience the ambience study the lives of people staying there This will bring vibrancy to those regions Modi saidThe prime minister also stressed on the need to break silos and make concerted efforts to ensure 100 per cent implementation of schemes such as the PM Awas Yojana and the Jal Jeevan Mission as well as schemes for rural roads improving connectivity in north-eastern region and providing broadband connectivity in villagesHe said the Prime Ministers Development Initiative for the North East PM-DevINE will ensure the saturation of basic amenities in the regionSimilarly Svamitva Scheme is helping in properly demarcating residences and land in villages as more than 40 lakh property cards have been issued he said adding that the budget has also allocated Rs 48000 crore to build 80 lakh housesReferring to the target of providing four crore tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission the prime minister asked officials to step up efforts to ensure that every household in the country had access to clean tap water by 2024He also asked every state government to be vigilant about the quality of the pipelines being laid under the Mission as also the quality of water that is proposed to be supplied to householdsNoting that rural digital connectivity had become a necessity Modi said the initiative will lead to creation of a pool of skilled youth in villages and help expand the services sector in the countryHe underlined the role of women power as the foundation of the rural economyFinancial inclusion has ensured better participation of women in the financial decisions of the families There is a need to push this participation of women further through self-help groups Modi saidThe webinar was attended by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh ministers of state and officials of more than a dozen ministries and departments PTI SKUASK SKU MIN MIN