GK Question

Answer: Auditing and reporting to Parliament/State Legislatures, enabling legislative oversight through Public Accounts Committees

CAG role in accountability: (a) Constitutional mandate: Article 148-151 - CAG audits government accounts, submits reports to President/Governor, who lays them before Parliament/State Legislatures, (b) Accountability mechanism: (i) Audit function: CAG examines financial, performance, compliance aspects of government expenditures, programs, (ii) Reporting: CAG reports highlight irregularities, inefficiencies, recommend corrective actions, (iii) Legislative oversight: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) examines CAG reports, questions officials, recommends action to executive, (c) Limitations: (i) Advisory nature: CAG recommendations not binding; implementation depends on executive, legislative follow-up, (ii) No enforcement power: CAG cannot penalize, recover funds; relies on moral authority, public scrutiny, (iii) Time lag: Audit reports often examine expenditures 2-3 years after occurrence, limiting real-time accountability, (d) Applications: (i) Scam exposure: CAG reports have exposed major scams (2G, coal allocation), leading to investigations, reforms, (ii) Program improvement: CAG recommendations lead to improvements in scheme design, implementation, monitoring, (iii) Public awareness: Media, civil society use CAG reports to demand accountability, transparency, (e) Illustrates accountability architecture: CAG provides independent, evidence-based audit; PAC, media, citizens drive accountability through political, democratic pressure; separation of audit, enforcement functions preserves institutional independence.