What is the Full Form of CAG ?
The full form of CAG is Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The CAG is authority personnel, under Article 148 of the Indian Constitution that is responsible for auditing all the expenditures of the Central and the State Governments, along with the governmental agencies that are funded by the government of India. CAG also audits government-owned corporations with an equity share of 51% or subsidiary companies of the existing government companies.
The Tenure and Appointment of the CAG
The CAG is appointed for 6 years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. On the recommendation of the Indian Prime Minister, the President of India appoints the CAG. The CAG holds the office in the headquarters in New Delhi.
The Powers and Duties Delegated to the CAG
The CAG enjoys the same privileges as that of the Judge of the Supreme Court of India. In the Indian order of precedence, the CAG has secured the 9th rank. The CAG also stands for the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. The reports prepared by the CAG are furnished in the sessions of the Parliament or the Legislature. They are taken into account by the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings. The CAG is entitled to appoint and reappoint the auditor of a government company, instruct the auditors under him, direct the audit and conduct test audits of the accounts of the government companies, and supplement the audit report of the statutory auditors.
Let us now revise the duties that are delegated to the CAG in the following lines:
The CAG has to audit the receipts and the expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India and of the State and Union Territory that have a legislative assembly. He audits the government companies. The CAG is responsible for auditing the expenditures from the Contingency Fund and public accounts of the Center and the States. The auditing of trades, manufacture, profit, loss, balance sheets, and other subsidiary accounts along with the stocks accounts that are under the Government is under the power of the CAG. The CAG has the power to audit any loans and grants given to authorities by the government. After the audits, the CAG is entitled to submit the audit report of the centre to the President and that of the states to the governors of the respective states.
The Loss of Office:
As we are talking about what CAG stands for, along with everything, you also must know when the CAG can be removed from his office. If and only both the houses of the parliament pass the order of removal, then the CAG can be evicted from his office on the proven ground of incompetence and misconduct. The process is known as removal and it is done similar to the manner of removal of the judge of the supreme court. On other accounts, the CAG leaves his office after the completion of his tenure.
Background
In 1858, the British government established the office of accountant general. It was the year when the British government took control from the East India company. After that, in 1860, Edward Drummond was appointed as the first Auditor General of India. Meanwhile, after some changes, it was renamed in 1884. The Auditor General of India was renamed as Auditor and Accountant general of India.
The Government of India Act 1935 gave the Auditor-General independence from the government. The Government of India Act 1935 gave the position of the auditor general. It provided the provincial auditors to the governor-general. This act also described the role and responsibilities of the auditor general. It gave a brief overview of the auditor general of India. The Account and Audit Order of 1936 described in detail the functions of the auditor general. This arrangement remained unchanged till the independence of India in 1947. After independence, the Article 148 provided for the establishment of a Comptroller and Auditor General of India. It provided for the establishment of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by the President of India. In 1958, the area of Jammu and Kashmir also extended in its jurisdiction. In 1971, the Government passed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Act, 1971. According to this act, CAG was responsible for both accounting and auditing of central as well as state governments. In 1976, CAG was relieved from the accounting duties.
After 1990, the CAG has gone under modernization. The large structure of Indian democracy and corruption in the country provided the CAG more opportunities to present himself as an important part of democracy. CSG has evaluated some of the biggest scandals of history which also became controversial sometimes.
Constitutional Provisions Regarding CAG
Article 148: It deals with the CAG appointment and oath and also the conditions of the service.
Article 149: It deals with the duties and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Article 150: The accounts of the Government of states and Central will be managed as per instructions as given by the President and prescribed by the CAG.
Article 151: It states that all of the reports of the CAG which will be related to the union government will be submitted to the President of India. The President will present them before each house of the parliament: lower house and Upper house.
Article 279: Calculation of "Net Proceeds" will be done by the CAG of India. It will be certified by him and this certification would be final.
Third Schedule: Third Schedule of the Indian constitution prescribes the oath of Supreme Court judges and auditor general at the time of assumption of office.
FAQs on CAG Full Form
What is CAG ?
The full form of CAG is Comptroller and Auditor General of India, who audits the expenses of the central and state governments. The Indian President appoints the CAG on the recommendation of the Indian Prime Minister. The CAG is removed from his office by the vote of both the houses of the Parliament or on the completion of his tenure.
What are the differences between the CAG of India and Britain?
The main differences between CAG of India and Britain are:
CAG of India is an Auditor General and not a Comptroller. But as compared to the CAG of India, the CAG of Britain has the power of both comptroller as well as auditor general.
In India, CAG audits the account of the government after the expenditure. While in Britain, no money can be withdrawn from an account without the approval of the auditor general.
CAG of India can not be a member of any of the houses of the parliament while in Britain, CAG is a member of the house of commons.
What is the independence of CAG?
The various provisions of the Indian constitution guarantee the independence of CAG.
The CAG of India is always appointed by the President for the period of 6 years or 65 age, whichever comes first according to the procedure described in the constitution.
CAG is not eligible for the Government of India once he retires.
The administrative powers and the conditions for an employee serving in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are decided by the President. He can do so only after consulting with CAG.
Define the relation between CAG and PAC?
The full form of PAC is the public accounts committee. It is a parliamentary standing committee created under the GOI act, 1919. CAG and PAC relations are following:
CAG reports are handed over to PAC's at the centre and at the state.
PAC examines three types of audit reports of CAG. these reports are:
Audit Reports on Appropriation Accounts.
Audit Reports on Finance Accounts.
Audit Reports on Public Undertakings.
CAG also assists the committee by preparing a list of the most urgent matters which deserve the attention of PAC.
CAG also works sometimes as the interpreter and translator and becomes the medium of communication of politicians and officers.
What are the challenges of CAG?
The major challenges of CAG at present scenario are:
At present, Audits are becoming difficult for CAG due to corruption.
Besides doing continuous audits of central and state governments, CAG also has to do the audits of public–private partnership projects.
Not any fixed criteria are defined in the constitution for the appointment of the CAG.
This has given complete power to the authority to appoint any of the candidates of his choice to appoint as CAG.
Some of the audits of CAG also attracted criticism due to his controversial reports.
