PAC to examine CAG report on AgustaWestland chopper deal

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a body of Parliamentarians, will examine a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the controversial Rs 3500-crore AgustaWestland-VVIP chopper deal, mired in allegations of kickbacks paid to Indian officials.
The PAC's sub-committee on Defence, headed by Congress leader Shantaram Naik, will examine the CAG report on the chopper deal, signed in 2013 when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power at the Centre.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is already investigating the allegations of kickbacks. Former Indian Air Force Chief SP Tyagi has also been arrested in this matter.

India had signed a contract to purchase 12 AgustaWestland helicopters to be used by top dignitaries such as the president and the prime minister.
The allegations on kickbacks paid to officials and politicians in India came up after the arrest of the CEO of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's parent company, by Italian authorities. Following an outcry, the UPA government cancelled the deal.
The sub-committee headed by Naik, which will meet later this month, has two members from the Bharatiya Janata Party - Nishikant Dubey and Riti Pathak. One member, Neiphiu Rio, belongs to the NDA ally Naga People's Front, and two others -- B Mahtab and Sudip Bandyopadhyay -- are from the Biju Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress respectively.

The CAG reports on the improper management of Defence land, procurement of trainer aircraft, procurement of Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation system, unfruitful investment in procurement of Torpedo will also be examined by the PAC, headed headed by Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha.
Various other sub-committees will examine other CAG reports -- including on the acquisition and development of land by the Delhi Development Association, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, arrears of tax and performance of special economic zones(SEZs).
The PAC will also examine a CAG report on a hydrocarbon production contract, in which the government auditor had red- flagged excessive costs recovered by the Reliance Industries Ltd.