India

Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2003

Act No. 39 of 2003 (as amended by Act No. 30 of 2018) + Constitution of India Arts. 112-151 + CAG Act 1971 (Act No. 56 of 1971)

Statute text →

Fiscal Transparency: 56/100 (moderate)
56
out of 100
limited
34 of 37 scored fields populated. Higher = stronger statutory transparency requirements.

India's national fiscal framework combines constitutional mandates (Art. 112 Annual Financial Statement; Arts. 148-151 independent CAG), the FRBM Act 2003 (fiscal deficit and debt ceilings; mandatory medium-term fiscal statements), and the CAG Act 1971. The Union Budget is tabled on 1 February each year. The CAG, appointed by the President and removable only by Parliamentary address, audits 36,000+ entities and tables reports in Parliament. A fiscal council introduced in 2018 remains non-operational; independent oversight is provided by the CAG and Lok Sabha PAC.

Transparency Requirements

Budget Publicationmax 12 pts

Budget publication required ✓ Yes
Budget published online ✓ Yes
Budget publication timeline 59 days before fiscal year
Machine-readable budget format No
Draft budget required before adoption No

Expenditure Disclosuremax 12 pts

Expenditure disclosure required ✓ Yes
Expenditure granularity department
Public expenditure portal required No
Expenditure reporting frequency annual

Independent Auditmax 12 pts

Audit required ✓ Yes
Auditor independent of entity ✓ Yes
Auditor selection method appointed independent
Audit frequency annual
Audit reports public ✓ Yes
Audit scope financial performance

Contract & Procurementmax 10 pts

Public bidding required ✓ Yes
Public bidding threshold 2,500,000 INR
Contract publication required ✓ Yes
Bid award disclosure ✓ Yes
Beneficial ownership disclosure No

Debt & Liability Disclosuremax 10 pts

Debt disclosure required ✓ Yes
Pension liability disclosure
Contingent liability disclosure
Voter approval required for new debt No

Fiscal Reporting Frequencymax 10 pts

Interim reporting required ✓ Yes
Interim reporting frequency
Year-end report deadline 180 days after fiscal year
Citizens budget required No

Enforcement & Oversightmax 10 pts

Non-compliance penalties No
Fiscal oversight body ✓ Yes
Whistleblower protections ✓ Yes
Legislative budget office ✓ Yes

Revenue & Tax Transparencymax 8 pts

Tax expenditure reporting ✓ Yes
Revenue forecasting required ✓ Yes
Tax rate publication ✓ Yes
Fee schedule publication No

Compensation & Payrollmax 8 pts

Salary disclosure required No
Salary disclosure scope
Pension benefit disclosure
Overtime reporting No

Capital & Asset Disclosuremax 8 pts

Capital plan required ✓ Yes
Asset inventory required No
Surplus asset disposal transparency No

All Fiscal Transparency Laws