What is meant by public accounts?

Article 266 of the Constitution defines the Public Account as being those funds that are received on behalf of the Government of India. Public Account funds do not belong to the government and have to be finally paid back to the persons and authorities that deposited them. 

The Public Account of India accounts for flows for those transactions where the government is merely acting as a banker. Some examples of these are provident funds, small savings and so on. The expenditure from public accounts is not required to be approved by the Parliament because of the returning nature of the fund. 

Further Reading:

• Public Accounts Committee
• Parliamentary Committees
• Committees & Their Purposes