Legal Glossary
Plain-English definitions of government finance and administrative terms.
A
- Appropriation
- Official allocation of funds from the Consolidated Fund for a specific purpose, authorized by Parliament.
C
- CAG
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India — the supreme audit authority that audits all government receipts and expenditures.
- CCS Rules
- Central Civil Services Rules — a family of rules governing conduct, leave, pension, and classification of central government employees.
- Charged Expenditure
- Expenditure that is charged upon the Consolidated Fund and does not require a vote in Parliament (e.g., salary of President, judges, CAG).
- Circular
- An official communication issued by a Ministry or Department to clarify, amend, or supplement existing rules.
- Consolidated Fund
- The main fund of the Government of India into which all revenue is deposited and from which all expenditure is met (Article 266).
- Contingency Fund
- A fund at the disposal of the President for meeting unforeseen expenditure pending authorization by Parliament (Article 267).
D
- DFPR
- Delegation of Financial Powers Rules — rules that delegate financial powers from the Government to various authorities for expenditure sanction. See rulebook →
- DoPT
- Department of Personnel and Training — the nodal agency for personnel management in the Central Government.
E
- Earned Leave
- Leave earned by a government servant at the rate of 2.5 days per month of service, which can be accumulated and encashed. See rulebook →
- e-Marketplace (GeM)
- Government e-Marketplace — the mandatory online platform for procurement of goods and services by government departments. See rulebook →
F
- FR/SR
- Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules — rules governing pay, allowances, leave, and joining time of central government employees. See rulebook →
G
- Gazette Notification
- Official publication in the Gazette of India through which rules, orders, and regulations acquire legal force.
- GFR
- General Financial Rules — the master framework governing all financial transactions of the Government of India. See rulebook →
- GPF
- General Provident Fund — a mandatory savings scheme for government employees where deductions are made from salary and interest is credited annually.
- Grants-in-aid
- Financial assistance given by the Central Government to state governments, institutions, or organizations for specified purposes. See rulebook →
L
- Lien
- The right of a government servant to hold substantively a permanent post, including the right to count service under the post for pension. See rulebook →
O
- Office Memorandum (O.M.)
- An official document issued by a Ministry/Department to communicate decisions, clarifications, or instructions.
P
- Pension
- Monthly payment made to a retired government servant or their family as per CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021.
- Proviso
- A conditional clause in a rule that creates an exception or qualification to the main rule ("Provided that...").
R
- Re-appropriation
- Transfer of funds from one budget head to another within the same grant, authorized by competent authority. See rulebook →
- RTI
- Right to Information Act, 2005 — gives citizens the right to access information held by public authorities.
S
- Schedule
- An appendix or annexure attached to an Act or Rules containing supplementary details like tables, forms, or rates.
- Storekeeper
- A government official responsible for receipt, custody, and issue of stores (goods) as per GFR Chapter 8. See rulebook →
- Suspense Account
- A temporary account used to park transactions whose final classification is pending verification.
T
- TA/DA
- Travelling Allowance / Daily Allowance — reimbursement paid to government employees for official travel expenses. See rulebook →
U
- Utilization Certificate
- A certificate confirming that grants-in-aid were spent for the intended purpose, required under GFR Rule 238. See rulebook →
V
- Vote on Account
- A temporary budget approval allowing the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund until the full budget is passed.
Definitions are provided for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative rule text.