In a significant development, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has decided to broaden its ambit by including five new sectors: public-private partnerships (PPP), environment and climate change, e-governance, social audit, and regulatory bodies. This step indirectly brings private companies under CAG's scrutiny, marking a notable shift in the organization's oversight.
During its ongoing biennial meeting, the CAG office will also review the nature of reforms and re-engineering of audit processes, methodologies, and approaches to align with its evolving role. The need for these reforms arises from the challenges posed by the increasing varieties of organizational forms in the current liberalized and globalized environment.
A CAG report highlights that Rs. 1,50,000 crore has been allocated to various central government-funded schemes. However, the current auditing procedure fails to capture the amount in transit or the actual sum utilized, leading to an estimated float of Rs 10,000 crore at any point in time. This has been a recurring issue with national schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) and the National Rural Health Management (NRHM).
Bharti Prasad, deputy CAG, stated on the eve of the 24th Accountants General conference, "We found loopholes within these two schemes and informed the government. We’re currently working on a system which can sort out government accounts where multi-layered agencies like non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are working."
Additionally, there are plans to enhance the role of state CAGs and further streamline the integration process between them and the central CAG.