J&K govt introduces new classification for grant-in-aid expenditure

Srinagar, Jan 6: The Jammu & Kashmir Government has decided that Grant-in-Aid expenditure will no longer be booked under a single head but classified into three distinct categories.
In a circular, the Finance Department has intimated that the newly adopted heads are 031 -GIA (General), 035 -GIA (Creation of Capital Assets) and 036 – GIA (Salary).
The move comes after the Principal Accountant General, J&K, advised the Union Territory Government to adopt this classification.
In two separate communiqués, the Principal Accountant General informed the Finance Department that booking expenditure against Grant-in-Aid under a single detailed head “028 – Grant-in-Aid” is not in conformity with the recommended classification structure.
“Accordingly, it has been recommended that expenditure on Grant-in-Aid be booked under distinct detailed heads, viz. GIA-Creation of Capital Assets, GIA-General, and GIA-Salary, as part of the exercise on Rationalization and Harmonization of Primary Units of Appropriation (PUA)/Object Heads (OH),” reads the Finance Department’s circular.
The move is part of a rationalization and harmonization initiative aimed at achieving pan-India uniformity in the economic classification of government expenditure. The initiative will also facilitate comparability of identical classes of expenditure across Union Territories, State Governments, and the Union Government.
In a letter dated September 10, 2025, the Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General of India had written to J&K’s Chief Secretary, advising adoption of a uniform object head structure for Grant-in-Aid aligned with that of the Union Government.
The Government has directed all Administrative Secretaries to furnish component-wise details of funds already projected under the head “028 – Grant-in-Aid” on BEAMS.
“In order to streamline financial discipline, all the Administrative Secretaries are accordingly requested to furnish the component-wise details of the funds already projected on BEAMS under the detailed head ‘028 – Grant-in-Aid,’ so as to enable the Finance Department to make appropriate budgetary provisions for Grant-in-Aid under the newly introduced detailed heads in the Budget Estimates (BE) 2026-27,” the circular adds. (KNO)