Comptroller And Auditor General Of India

StatsGuru: States' pension burden overtook interest payments in 2022-23

CAG report shows pensions overtook interest costs in FY23 as states spent 43% of revenue on committed expenditure, including salaries, pensions, and debt servicing

Revenue deficit, capital spends: Key takeaways from 15th finance commission

The 15th FC had recommended a sizeable Rs. 2.9 trillion as revenue deficit grants (RDG) to a select number of states for FY2022-FY2026

Bihar failed to submit utilisation reports for ₹70,000 cr projects: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Bihar government for failing to submit utilisation certificates for projects worth Rs 70,877 crore. The report of the CAG on State Finances for the year 2023-24 was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday. "Despite the requirement of submitting UCs within the stipulated time period, 49,649 outstanding UCs of Rs 70,877.61 crore were not received by the Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlements), Bihar, as on March 31, 2024," it said. In the absence of UCs, there is no assurance that funds disbursed have been used for the intended purpose, the report said. "Moreover, high pendency of UCs is fraught with the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of funds," it said. Of the total Rs 70,877.61 crore, Rs 14,452.38 crore pertained to the period up to 2016-17. The top five defaulting departments are Panchayati Raj (Rs 28,154.10 crore), Education (Rs 12,623.67 crore), Urban Development (Rs 11,065.50 crore), Rural

Sivasubramanian Ramann takes charge as PFRDA chairperson for five years

Former SIDBI chairman brings decades of experience in finance and regulation as he assumes charge of pension regulator PFRDA for a five-year term or until age 65

CAG, IIM Mumbai sign pact on logistics, supply chain, inventory management

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and the Indian Institute of Management, Mumbai, on Tuesday signed an agreement to enhance the efficiency and transparency of public sector logistics, supply chain and inventory management. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of CAG K Sanjay Murthy and Director of IIM Mumbai Manoj Tiwari, the CAG office said in a release. "This MoU represents an initiative spearheaded by CAG of India, to actively engage with institutes of national importance, such as IIM Mumbai, excelling in various areas, to enhance the capacity building of Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IAAD) officials at a mass scale," it said. By collaborating with such prestigious institutions, the CAG aims to strengthen the auditing capabilities and improve resource management across government departments and public sector enterprises, the release said. The MoU, the CAG office said, focuses on leveraging IIM Mumbai's academic expertise to .

SC raps Uttarakhand for not filing affidavit in CAMPA funds misuse case

The Bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih said that the state had provided no explanation for why the funds (allocated for compensatory afforestation) were used to purchase iPhones and laptops

CAG Murthy, Arvind Panagariya hold consultation on public finance, revenue

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) K Sanjay Murthy on Wednesday held consultations with Chairman of 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya on various aspects of public finance, including untapped revenue sources, GST administration, and standardisation of accounting practices in all tiers. The high-level consultation formed a critical part of the commission's ongoing assessment of the financial landscape of the Centre and states, the CAG office said in a release. The deliberations mainly focused on three key areas - Union and state finances, local bodies, and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs). The Union, the states, local bodies and the PSEs are under the audit of the CAG. In addition, the CAG maintains the accounts of the states. The CAG shared various audit findings for the Union and states in different sectors, fiscal challenges and stress points, including the gap between expenditure and non-debt receipts for the Union and states combined. The key areas of concer

Additional expense of Rs 10.2 cr by Kerala to buy PPE kit during Covid: CAG

Despite having prescribed unit rates for PPE kits at Rs 545 to control prices, the government procured kits at much higher rates, up to 300 per cent above the unit rate, in March and April 2020

Govt appoints K Sanjay Murthy as next Comptroller and Auditor General

The government on Monday said K Sanjay Murthy will be the next Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Murthy, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, will succeed Girish Chandra Murmu. He is currently Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. "By virtue of the power vested in her by clause (1) of article 148 of the Constitution of India, the President has been pleased to appoint K Sanjay Murthy to be the Comptroller and Auditor General of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said a notification issued by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on August 8, 2020. He will complete his term on November 20.

CAG shines a light on state govts' expenses, asks officials for clarity

The CAG last week raised concerns over unclassified expenditures, questioning state finance secretaries over 'hidden' funds marked for various handouts

CAG plans to develop its own AI for fast writing of audit reports

Comptroller and Auditor General of India G C Murmu on Wednesday said the supreme audit institution is in the process of developing its own Artificial Intelligence (AI) protocol for faster writing of its audit reports. "For data analysis and various other things, we have our own system in place...for the writing (audit reports) we have now started, so we have to see," he said here. "Data is collected by our auditors at the field from the records...in some cases, we have to reclassify according to our requirement. For that we run analytics...cleaning is done through the analytics," he said. Once cleaning of data is done and classification and integration made as per the requirement, he said, adding that algorithm biases are hardly there in analysing data. He said about 35 audit reports would be tabled in both Parliament and state assemblies during the upcoming winter session. About 200 reports are presented in a year by the office of CAG. Speaking about 16th Assembly of the Asian .

Assam govt's outstanding debt rises 107% in 5 years from FY19: CAG

The Assam government's outstanding debt increased by over 107 per cent from 2018-19 to 2022-23 with the growth rate of outstanding liability also rising during the period, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said on Friday. The report for the 2022-23 fiscal, which was tabled in the assembly, noted that the capital expenditure by the state government decreased by over 20 per cent in FY'23 as compared to 2021-22. The outstanding debt of the state "rapidly increased by 107.34 per cent from Rs 59,425.61 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,23,214.80 crore in 2022-23", the report said, adding that the growth rate of outstanding liability also increased from 20.60 per cent in 2018-19 to 23.32 per cent in 2022-23. The outstanding liabilities-GSDP ratio also rose from 19.21 per cent in 2018-19 to 24.98 per cent in FY'23 due to increased borrowings from the open market, the auditor said. The public debt constituted 81.98 per cent of the total borrowing at the end of 2022-23. During the year

CAG, General Court of Audit of Saudi Arabia sign pact for mutual support

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has signed a pact with the General Court of Audit, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to strengthen cooperation and exchange of expertise between the two nations in the field of public sector auditing. The area of cooperation encompasses conducting joint training programmes on topics related to financial, performance and compliance audits and exchange of audit manuals and audit methodologies, the CAG said. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday in Riyadh. "Our commitment to a strong bilateral relationship is a witness to the shared values and objectives of our institutions and will serve to reinforce bonds between our SAIs and our nations," CAG Girish Chandra Murmu said. The CAG stated that the support and cooperation between the two SAIs will energise their capacity development initiatives and encourage exchange of knowledge and information between the two Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). Hussam Abdulmohsen Alangari,

Goa's fiscal parameters improved under CM Pramod Sawant post Covid yrs: CAG

The CAG has appreciated the Pramod Sawant government's efforts in improving fiscal parameters, including increasing revenue surplus and bringing down fiscal deficit to GSDP ratio in the post-COVID years. A report of the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) till March 31, 2023, was tabled during the just-concluded session of the Goa Legislative Assembly. In an important achievement for the Sawant government, the CAG stated the state has succeeded in improving fiscal parameters like revenue, fiscal and primary deficits etc.\, compared to the previous four years. The report focused on the achievements of Chief Minister Sawant and the Finance Department team in improving the health of state finances very effectively post the COVID pandemic. The analysis of the report makes it clear that Sawant has been a very effective Finance Minister and achieved a majority of targets under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act and Rules. The report pointed out tremendous improveme

CAG flags financial loss of Rs 2,604 cr to Railways in 33 case studies

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged financial losses to the Indian Railways to the tune of Rs 2604.40 crore in 33 case studies of non-recovery of loans and GST, improper decision to generate non-fare revenues, ineligible grant of concession, and unfruitful expenditures. According to the CAG, the instances mentioned in the report are those which came to notice in the test audit for the period 2021-22 as well as those which came to notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous Audit Reports. In one of these 33 cases, the CAG said that the Ministry of Railways suffered a loss of Rs 834.72 crore in interest it was forced to pay to a third party on a loan of Rs 3,200 crore it had extended to IRCON for development of a land parcel. IRCON paid the loan along with interest but no development of the land parcel was done, it said. It recommended the fixing of the responsibility for this huge loss and avoid "decisions for generating Non-Fare ...

Shortage of medical, para staff in test checked hospitals of Railways: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in its report that while carrying out an audit of Management of Health Services in Indian Railways' it observed the shortage of medical and para medical staff in test checked hospitals of the Zonal Railways. There was also shortage in availability of machines/medical equipment with reference to IPHS (Indian Public Health Standards) norms. Even the minimum requirement of machines/medical equipment as per clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010 was not being met, the CAG said in its recent report. According to the CAG, the Indian Railways (IR) provide medical and health services to about one crore railway beneficiaries through 129 hospitals and 586 Health Units and the review on Management of Health Services in Indian Railways covered the issues for assessing the adequacy and quality of health services provided by it during the period 2017-18 to 2021-22. Audit examined the implementation of various policies and ..

Poor planning, mgmt delayed projects in Patna Smart Cities Mission: CAG

The deficient financial management, poor planning and inclusion of unfeasible projects resulted in delayed or incomplete execution of projects under the Smart Cities Mission in Patna, the CAG said in a report. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said that "unfeasible projects" were included in the list of 44 initially approved projects, indicating "poor planning on the part of Patna Smart City Limited (PSCL) and the Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD) of Bihar government". "This ultimately resulted in delayed/incomplete execution of projects. The financial management of PSCL was also deficient, as funds had been diverted for unapproved projects and incorrect utilisation certificates had been submitted," said the compliance audit report of the CAG for the year ended March 31, 2022, which was tabled in the Bihar assembly on Thursday. The contract management for the mission was also poor as the complete scheme did not fulfil the desired objectives, it ...

CAG considering tax concessions as 'presumptive loss' not fair: Subbarao

If tax concessions announced by the government are treated as 'presumptive loss' by federal auditor Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), it would diminish democracy and not enhance it, opined former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao. Subbarao, who held various positions including the Union finance secretary, wrote in his new book titled 'Just A Mercenary?: Notes from My Life and Career' about his involvement in the decision-making on the pricing of the 2G spectrum, an issue that embroiled the UPA-2 government amid charges of mammoth corruption. "If a democratically elected government decides to forego revenue in order to serve the larger public good of deepening telecom penetration, is it open to the CAG to substitute his own judgement for the government's and call it a 'presumptive loss'?" he asked. Subbarao was responding to a question on the 2G scam case and the CAG's investigation of the presumptive loss to the government during the UPA-2 period. "If the CAG is allowed t

Audit plays catalytic role in promoting efficiency, effectiveness: CAG

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu on Friday said that the objectives of the audit are not merely to find out the deviations, non-compliance and fault finding in lawful decision-making but to promote efficiency and effectiveness also. Speaking at the SRCC Business Conclave here, the CAG said different types of audit are taken up against the extant policies, rules, and standards prevalent at the time of audit. Murmu stated that accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness are assertions that are tested in audit. Such independent checks on the functioning of the government provide credibility to the executive and confidence to the public at large, he said, and added securing accountability of the government protects its fiscal stability and its image globally. "Although accountability does not start and end with audit, it emphasises the need to fix responsibility for healthy governance. Different types of audits, as mentioned, promote ..

Railways had to spend over Rs 75 cr extra due to delays: PAC report

Delay in the provisioning of Availability Based Tariff (ABT) Metres by the West Central Railway resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs 75.10 crore on power purchase, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. The committee, which tabled its report in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said the Railway Ministry had issued instructions in March 2015 to all zonal railways to get direct power from generating companies through open access and ensure the provision of ABT metres. The Ministry's instructions were aimed at reducing the traction tariff to optimise the unit cost of transportation. "Despite entering into an agreement in March 2016 under open access, power supply commenced only from January 2017 mainly due to a delay in the provisioning of ABT metres.The delay in shifting to open access resulted in an extra expenditure on power purchase amounting to Rs 75.10 crore," the report, which was based on a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report laid in Parliament in .