All About Comptroller And Auditor General

Comptroller and Auditor General is the supreme authority from India’s Accounts and Audit Department. In the words of BR Ambedkar, CAG is the person who ensures that the expenses disbursed by Parliament do not vary from the Appropriation Act. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General is an autonomous body. That is created under the constitutional provisions mentioned between articles 148-151 of the Indian Constitution.

Apart from this, the Comptroller and Auditor General supervises the allocation of money from the consolidated fund of India. Thus, ensure proper utilisation of reserves by preparing audit reports.

Appointment And Removal Of CAG

The President appoints CAG by issuing a warrant under his seal. The person gets appointed for six years or till the age of 65, whichever is before.

During oath, the prospect ensures to have faith in India’s constitution. He also guarantees to uphold the integrity and sovereignty of India.

Moreover, he swears to conduct his responsibilities with adequate skills, understanding, and judgment.

CAG can resign anytime from his department by addressing the resignation to the President. The President can also remove him based on a resolution in the Houses of Parliament with the great majority. The basis of removal is required to be misbehaviour or inability.

Independence Of CAG

For safeguarding CAG, the constitution made the hereafter provisions:

• CAG has the safety of tenure, and only the President can remove him by following the protocol referred to in the law. 
• CAG is not allowed to hold on office further after the discontinuation procedure.
• The salary of CAG and other service conditions is similar to the Supreme Court judge.
• Also, no one can modify the leave conditions, pension, or retirement age after the CAG appointment procedure.
• The President will discuss with CAG to define service conditions and the executive powers. Also, the salaries and pensions of those serving CAG correspond to the Consolidated Fund of India. That means they are not liable to the Parliament vote.
• Next, any minister cannot represent the Comptroller and Auditor General in the houses of the Parliament and take any obligation for the actions performed by them.

Constitutional Provisions Of CAG 

• Article 148: CAG appointment, affirmation and service conditions.
• Article 149: It includes the responsibilities and powers of the CAG.
• Article 150: It prescribes the form of States and Union’s accounts.
• Article 151: Asserts that the Comptroller and Auditor General reports of accounts shall get delivered to the President.
• Article 279: It includes calculation and certification of net proceeds by CAG.
• Third Schedule: Section 4 of the Third Schedule of Indian law specifies oaths made by the Supreme Court Judges and CAG during the appointment.
• Sixth Schedule: District Council and Regional Council accounts should be maintained with the permission of the President and CAG. And reports prepared should be laid before council as prescribed.

CAG follows the functions of CAG to authorise the Indian Constitution:

• Prepare audit reports to ensure the sound financial management of the various executives, including the council of ministers and Parliament.
• Prepare the audit report on financial accounts, appropriation accounts and public undertakings. Then submit these three audit reports to the President. The President later presents these reports before both the Parliament Houses.
• The Public Accounts Committee evaluates the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to bring up its explanations before the Parliament.
• CAG is accountable solely to the Parliament. It is because he works as a representative of the Parliament. And do expenditure audits on the Parliament’s behalf.
• Likewise, CAG also performs the audit of vouchers and stocks. Through this proprietary audit, CAG comments on the government expenditure.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General also help the Public Accounts Committee gather issues that need attention. You can also say that CAG sometimes acts as an interpreter to express opinions to politicians.

CAG And Public Accounts Committee

PAC is a standing committee founded as per the Indian Government Act, 1919. The audit reports of CAG get published to the PACs. PAC critically studies the statements and submits their findings to the President.Then the President laid it before Parliament. 

The CAG also help the commiteel by gathering issues that need attention. So you can say that CAG sometimes acts as an interpreter to express opinions to politicians. Further, CAG keeps an eye on every corrective step taken and informs PAC to examine the situation further.

List of Comptroller And Auditor General in India

Conclusion

The selection protocol of the Comptroller and Auditor General is very controversial. The reason behind it is the involvement of the council and executives. Moreover, a lack of well-defined obligations creates an added problem in the way of creating accurate reports. It not only overburdens officers but also makes the system less productive. 

Therefore, to overcome such issues, the Government should pay more attention to the office of the CAG. And try to make appropriate changes to improve the functioning of the Comptroller and Auditor General. 

Thus, making the system better, transparent and valuable. We hope you have understood a lot more about CAGs.