Comptroller and Auditors General of India @ 150 + years

Comptroller and Auditor General of India

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India  is an authority, established by the Constitution of India under Chapter V, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures.

Government audit in British India

The role of the CAG evolved through practice and tradition in British India. Just  prior  to  the  mutiny  of  1857,  Lord  Canning  had  initiated  a  major administrative reorganisation. This led to  the  setting up of, for  the first time, in May 1858, a separate department with an Accountant General at the helm. He was responsible for accounting and auditing of the financial transactions under the East India Company. After the mutiny, the British Crown took over the administration of India and passed the Government of India Act 1858.

This Act introduced a system of an annual budget of Imperial Income and Expenditure in 1860. The budgeting system laid the foundation stone of Imperial Audit. Sir Edward Drummond took charge in November 1860 as the first Auditor General.  The term Comptroller and  Auditor General of India was first used in 1884. Under the Montford Reforms of 1919, the Auditor  General  became  independent  of  the  Government. The Government of India Act 1935 strengthened the position of the Auditor General by providing for Provincial Auditors General in a federal set-up. Till 1947, when the last British Auditor General Sir Bertie Monro Staig handed over  the  reins,  the  department  remained  an  integral  part  of  British administration.  Under  various  nomenclatures  like  the  Accountant General, the Auditor General and the Comptroller and Auditor General, it provided unified accounting and auditing arrangements for the whole of Brirish India.

Independent CAG  in independent India

Foreseeing  the  problems  inherent in  having an auditor who is  subordinate or  open to  pressure by the Government in power, the framers of our Constitution  put  in  place  several  provisions  in Articles 148 to 151 to ensure that the CAG and the officers  of Supreme  Audit  Institution  (SAI) of India  are  able  to conduct their  work  in an impartial  and upright manner. Article 148 imbues the CAG with the immunities from  executive  action  accorded  to  a  Supreme Court  Judge  (making  him  independent  of Governmental  and  political  influence).  Articles 149 and 150 define his duties and powers. Article 151 prescribes that his reports are to be submitted to the President/Governor and placed before the respective legislatures (Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha).

It's all in words….In the 15th century, the word Controller developed the alternate spelling Comptroller as a result of an association between the first part of the word, cont, and an unrelated word count and its variant compt Many people pronounce comptroller like controller but both are acceptable But the word Comptroller has a different meaning - someone who maintains and audits business.  Comptrollers are controllers but all controllers are not comptrollers.

 

The Constitution enables the independent and  unbiased nature of  audit by the CAG by providing:

1. Appointed by the President of India

2. Special procedure for removal (like a Supreme Court Judge)

3. Salary and expenses are Charged (not Voted) (equal to SC judge ` 90000/-)

4. Cannot hold any other Government office after his term expires

The DPC Act 1971

        As  envisaged  in  Article  149,  the  Parliament enacted a detailed legislation in 1971 known as the CAG's DPC (Duties, Powers and Conditions of  Service) Act. This Act  lays down the service conditions to secure the autonomous nature of the CAG. It also gives him a wide mandate and puts almost every spending, revenue collecting or aid/grant  receiving unit of the Government under his audit domain.

Duties and powers of CAG

        The duties of the CAG as defined by the DPC Act, 1971, are to audit and report up on :

1.   All receipts into and spending from the coffers (called the Consolidated Fund) of the Union and State Governments.]

2.   All transactions relating to the Emergency expenses  (called Contingency Funds) and relating to the monies of the public held by the Government e.g. Postal savings, Vikas Patras (called Public Accounts) at Central as well as State levels.

3.   All trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts,  balanc e  sheets  and  other s ubs idiary   accounts  kept  in  any Government department.

4.   All  stores  and  stock  accounts  of  all Government offices and departments.

5.   Accounts  of  all  Government  companies and Corporations e.g. ONGC, SAIL etc.

6.   Accounts  of  all  autonomous  bodies  and  authorities  receiving Government  money  e.g.  municipal  bodies,  IIM's,  IIT's,  State  Health societies.

7.   Accounts of any body or authority on request of the President/Governor or on his own initiative.

8.   Power to inspect any office or organisation subject to his audit.

9.   Power to examine all transactions and question the executive.

10.       Power  to  call  for  any  records,  papers,  documents  from  any audited entity

11.       Power to decide the extent and manner of audit.

List of Comptroller and Auditors General of British India

No.	Comptroller and Auditor General of India	Year tenure began	Year tenure ended
1	Hon. Edmund Drummond	1860	1862
2	R.P.Harrison	1862	1867
3	E.F.Harrison	1867	1879
4	W.Waterfeild	1879	1881
5	James westland	1881	1889
6	E.gay	1889	1891
7	A.F.cox	1898	1906
8	O.J Baarow	1906	1910
9	R.W.Gillan	1910	1912
10	Sir Frederic Gauntlett	1912	1914
11	Sir R.A Gamble	1914	1918
12	Sir Frederic Gauntlett	1918	1929
13	Sir.Ernest Burdon	1929	1940
14	Sir.Alexander Cameron Bandenoch	1940	1945
15	Sir Bertie Staig	1945	1948

List of Comptroller and Auditors General of India

No.	Comptroller and Auditor General of India	Year tenure began	Year tenure ended
1	V. Narahari Rao	1948	1954
2	A. K. Chanda	1954	1960
3	A. K. Roy	1960	1966
4	S. Ranganathan	1966	1972
5	A. Bakshi	1972	1978
6	Gian Prakash	1978	1984
7	T. N. Chaturvedi	1984	1990
8	C. G. Somiah	1990	1996
9	V. K. Shunglu	1996	2002
10	V. N. Kaul	2002	2008
11	Vinod Rai	2008	2013
12	Shashi Kant Sharma	2013	Incumbent (6 years tenure or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier]