Page 2 - Comptroller And Auditor General Of India

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 .

States lag Centre in capex push so far in FY24: CAG-Bank of Baroda data

Centre had allotted Rs 1.3 trillion for FY24 under the interest-free loans scheme for capital investment by states

Need to develop new techniques to audit 'Blue Economy': CAG Girish Murmu

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu on Monday said that Supreme Audit Institutions should develop new techniques and capabilities to audit marine life or the Blue Economy to ensure sustainable development. In order to fulfil their commitment towards sustainability goals in consonance with SDG 14 - Life below Water --, the governments are reorienting policies and regulatory structures to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. "Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) must align themselves with national priorities and efforts, through their audit by tracking progress, monitoring implementation and identifying opportunities for improvement," Murmu said, while inaugurating the three-day meeting of the Supreme Audit Institutions-20 (SAI20) Engagement Group, set up under India's G20 Presidency. The conference is being attended by delegates from SAI20-member Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of G20 countries,

CAG to chair G20 SAI on March 13-15 in Guwahati, 'Responsible AI' in focus

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is the Chair of the Supreme Audit Institutions-20 (SAI20) Engagement Group under India's G20 Presidency

Despite support from Centre, big states lagged on capex in FY23

Due to crucial state elections in 2022 and 2023, many state administrations chose to focus on scheme and subsidy spending

NRC project cost escalates from Rs 288 crore to Rs 1,602 crore: CAG report

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its report pointed out that due to time over run initially conceptualised National Register of Citizens, the project cost escalated to Rs 1602.66 Crore

NFRA issues inspection guidelines to improve quality control at audit firms

Inspections will consist of firm-wide review of audit quality and individual file reviews on test-check basis to evaluate the level of compliance with applicable auditing standards

CAG declares results of online essay competition; V-P to give prizes

Harsh, a student of Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur has won the first prize in an English essay competition organised by CAG

CAG set to conduct comprehensive audit of country's health sector

Current approach to be based in common parameters, goals and analysis, as opposed to earlier exercises done on the basis of some research or state-specific issues

HP's outstanding debt-GSDP ratio much above the target set by 15th FC: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report, said the total outstanding debt-GSDP ratio, which stood at 42.91%, was above the target set by the 15th Finance Commission (36%).

India at 75: Much of India's institutional arrangement is for show only

Even after 75 years, India remains politically feudal and colonial bureaucratically

The complex world of regulators

Independent and continued evaluation of statutory regulatory agencies is necessary and important for feedback to regulators and Parliament

I am content that we brought a player-centric approach to BCCI: Vinod Rai

Rai, who has stressed in the book the need to give a chance to younger people in administrator positions, feels that everyone has a shelf life.

CAG calls for making officials accountable as J&K failed to submit UCs

It said the non-submission of the UCs means that authorities have not explained as to how funds were spent over the years and is fraught with the risk of misappropriation

UIDAI should review issue of Aadhaar to children below 5 yrs: CAG

CAG pulled up UIDAI for issuance of Aadhaar to children below age of 5 years on the basis of the biometrics of their parents, saying such acts are against the basic tenets of Aadhaar Act

PSUs borrowing to buy equity of another firm defeats purpose: CAG

Due to poor financial condition, it said, ChPT had to raise a loan of Rs 1,775 crore at a rate of interest of 8 per cent per annum for purchasing the GoI's stake in KPL

Speed up broadband roll-out

War over USO fund should be resolved transparently