BharatNotes Imprest
noun (also archaic verb, transitive — "to advance or lend money")Usage in a UPSC answer
Robust expenditure controls — from a tightly reconciled imprest system in field offices to real-time digital audit trails — are indispensable if decentralised welfare delivery is to remain both responsive at the grassroots and accountable to the public exchequer.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
imprests (n pl), imprest (v, archaic)
Root
Italian imprestare = to lend; in- = into + prestare = to lend; Latin praestāre = to furnish, supply
Etymology
From Italian imprestare ("to lend"), from in- ("into") + prestare ("to lend"), from Latin praestāre ("to furnish, supply").
Memory Hook
Hear "im-PRESSED": money is "pressed" (im-prest, from Latin praestare, "to furnish at hand") into your hands in advance — a ready float you must later account for.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
A fixed sum advanced for defined expenditure and replenished as it is spent. Its constitutional application is the Contingency Fund of India under Article 267, placed at the disposal of the President as an imprest to meet unforeseen expenditure pending authorisation by Parliament, and the essential feature is that it is a bridge rather than a source: money drawn from it must be recouped from the Consolidated Fund once Parliament approves the expenditure, so the corpus is restored to its original level. That distinguishes it sharply from the two other funds. The Consolidated Fund under Article 266(1) receives all revenues and loans, and nothing may be withdrawn from it except by appropriation made by law. The Public Account under Article 266(2) holds money the government receives as a banker or trustee, such as provident fund balances and small savings, and requires no parliamentary appropriation precisely because that money is not the government's own.
Don’t Confuse It With
An imprest is a fixed advance replenished as spent, which is why the Contingency Fund is restored once Parliament approves the expenditure it financed. The Consolidated Fund under Article 266(1) holds all revenues and requires appropriation by law for any withdrawal. The Contingency Fund under Article 267 meets unforeseen expenditure pending that authorisation. The Public Account under Article 266(2) holds money the state holds as banker or trustee, and needs no appropriation because it does not belong to the government.
Hindi Meaning
अग्रदाय (agradāy); आकस्मिकता निधि (ākasmiktā nidhi) for the Contingency Fund.
Common Questions
- What is the difference between the Consolidated Fund and the Contingency Fund?
- Nothing may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without appropriation by law, whereas the Contingency Fund is an imprest for unforeseen spending, later recouped from the Consolidated Fund once Parliament approves.
- Why does the Public Account not require appropriation?
- Because it holds money the government receives as a banker or trustee, such as provident fund balances, which is not government revenue and must eventually be returned.
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