The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is a Constitutional Authority set up by the Constitution of India. Provisions of the CAG are contained in Article 148 (Comptroller and Auditor General of India), 149 (Duties and powers of the CAG), 150 (Form of accounts of the Union and of the States), and 151 (Audit reports) of the Constitution. He draws a salary equal to the judge of the Supreme Court.POWERS...

Recently an interesting article appeared in The New York Times on how after the completion of a social audit at Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh, villagers punished a local official for swindling funds allocated to the central government's flagship project, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. The irate villagers tied the official's hands and paraded him around the neighbouring villages. This is not a one-off incident; similar accounts have...

Today, the Indian media—both print and television—is focusing on the recent corruption scandals involving the UPA Government with unusual zeal. However, I fail to understand why almost every commentator, every TV anchor, every editorial writer feels compelled to pay ritual obeisance to the “personal honesty and integrity” of Dr Manmohan Singh while dealing with the scandals emanating from his cabinet colleagues. They do so even when there is clear evidence...

Corruption, No. 1 national security threat, is eating into the vitals of the state, enfeebling internal security and crimping foreign policy.  India confronts several pressing national security threats. But only one of them — political corruption — poses an existential threat to the state, which in reality has degenerated into a republic of mega-scandals. The pervasive misuse of public office for private gain is an evil, eating into the vitals...

The institution of Auditor General, established in 1860, became Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) with the commencement of the Constitution. On the occasion of the initiation of year-long celebrations to mark 150 years of the institution, may one, as a former member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, put forward a few suggestions (numbered for convenience) aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the institution? 1. It is a...