Q. From which of the following, no amount can be drawn without prior authorisation from Parliament?
- Consolidated Fund of India
- Contingency Fund of India
- Public Account
Select the correct option from the codes given below:
Answer:
Only 1
Notes: Please note that the Contingency Fund is placed at the disposal of the President to facilitate Government to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure pending authorization from Parliament. Thus, in case of the contingency fund, the Parliamentary approval is obtained,
post-facto, and an equivalent amount is drawn from the Consolidated Fund to recoup the Contingency Fund.
In case of Public Account, Prior authorization is required in some cases and NOT required in other cases. Moneys held by Government in Trust as in the case of Provident Funds, Small Savings collections, income of Government set apart for expenditure on specific objects like road development, primary education, Reserve/Special Funds etc. are kept in the Public Account. Public Account funds do not belong to Government and have to be finally paid back to the persons and authorities who deposited them. Parliamentary authorization for such payments is, therefore, not required, except where amounts are withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund with the approval of Parliament and kept in the Public Account for expenditure on specific objects, in which case, the actual expenditure on the specific object is again submitted for vote of Parliament for drawl from the Public Account for incurring expenditure on the specific object.