Associated News Bureau

Chief Secretary Calls for SDG-Linked Budgeting; High-Level Committee to Monitor Implementation

SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 23: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Thursday directed administrative departments to expedite preparations for integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their budgetary proposals for the next financial year, emphasising the need for measurable development outcomes, transparent expenditure tracking and coordinated implementation across Jammu and Kashmir. Chairing an interdepartmental coordination meeting, the Chief Secretary reviewed the proposed SDG-aligned budgeting framework and addressed implementation-related concerns. The meeting was attended by the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance; Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department (PD&MD); senior administrative officers; the State Informatics Officer, National Informatics Centre (NIC); and other concerned officials. Dulloo stressed the need for seamless integration of the proposed SDG Monitoring Dashboard with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and the Budget Estimation, Allocation and Monitoring System (BEAMS) to enable automated, real-time tracking of budgetary allocations and expenditure. He directed the departments to complete the requisite formalities ahead of the forthcoming budget exercise and ensure that the proposed framework is operationalised in a systematic manner. The Chief Secretary also called for a structured approach to the pilot exercise being undertaken by the Higher Education Department, directing that operational challenges and lessons learnt be addressed before extending the framework to other administrative departments. Emphasising capacity building, he stressed the need to familiarise departmental officers with the SDG mapping and budget-tagging methodology to ensure its uniform adoption across the Union Territory. The initiative, being implemented by the PD&MD in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to establish a direct linkage between budgetary allocations and measurable development outcomes. It will enable departments to assess how their schemes and expenditure contribute to specific SDG targets and identify areas requiring focused interventions. High-Level Committee to Oversee SDG Budgeting The proposed institutional mechanism envisages a High-Level SDG Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of the framework. The Finance and Planning Departments will coordinate the reconciliation of departmental frameworks, while individual line departments will identify the SDG contributions of their ongoing and newly proposed schemes. The dedicated SDG Cell will facilitate cross-referencing of departmental schemes against the State Indicator Framework (SIF). The framework distinguishes between Scheme-SDG Mapping, which assesses the alignment of scheme objectives and guidelines with specific SDG targets, and SDG Budget Tagging, which identifies the corresponding financial allocations. The exercise will cover all five phases of the budget cycle—preparation, approval, execution, accounting and oversight—to strengthen transparency, accountability and outcome-based monitoring of public expenditure. Higher Education Department to Pilot Framework Secretary, PD&MD, Owais Ahmad, shared the National Indicator Framework (NIF)-aligned SDG goals, targets and indicators with administrative departments and district administrations to facilitate the mapping of schemes and alignment of budgetary provisions with development priorities. He informed the meeting that Phase-I workshops for master trainers have been completed, while regional-level Phase-II training sessions are planned for departmental heads and district officers to ensure wider understanding and uniform adoption of the methodology. The Higher Education Department has been selected to pilot the initiative during the Revised Estimates (RE) exercise for 2026-27. The pilot will involve mapping its ongoing schemes against relevant SDG targets and indicators, providing an operational model for extending the framework to other departments. Technical teams from NIC and UNDP are working towards integrating the SDG Monitoring Dashboard with financial management and budget monitoring systems, including BEAMS. The proposed integration is expected to facilitate the tracking of financial allocations and expenditure alongside physical outputs and socio-economic indicators. The interdepartmental consultations are aimed at ensuring that the forthcoming budget exercise is increasingly aligned with clearly defined development priorities, measurable outcomes and effective monitoring mechanisms. ANB