Resources need to be efficiently utilised to make India developed: CAG

Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu has emphasised that India's resources have to be efficiently utilised for the country to become a fully developed nation.

Speaking at a conclave on the Management Issues in Railway Public Enterprises on Tuesday, he said that India is already the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

"It has one of the largest railway networks, which is crucial to the country's overall transport and logistic planning.

"While the Railways has a lot of responsibilities and makes immense contributions to the economy, the conclave will enable us to hold more meaningful interactions to create an efficient economy," the CAG said.

Murmu said that every government entity has been created with an intention and certain corporations have been created for special purposes.

But at the end, we must achieve a meaningful reform. There should be accountability and responsibility in terms of financial accounting and performance accounting. We are talking about the economics of returns and the ease of doing business, which are equally important, he added.

He further said the auditor's job is to look at what the different mandates of Railways are, and how you are performing not only in terms of capital deployment, but also how it is affecting returns.

"When resources are invested, it is our duty to look at it in the interest of building our country. We are trying to expedite the entire process of development. It requires that resources are efficiently and effectively used," the CAG said.

Murmu also said that corporate governance matters have to be followed by the PSUs of the Railways, and added there is also a need to study the economic returns instead of financial returns of the PSUs.

Chairman and CEO Railway Board other senior officers of the Railway Board and the PSUs of Indian Railways as well as senior officers of the CAG office participated in the conclave.

In all, there are 46 PSUs in Railways.