-Press Release by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) New Delhi: The idea of ‘good governance’ has gained a lot of momentum in the recent years and ‘Budget Transparency’ has acquired importance as one of the parameters of ‘good governance’ across the globe. In light of this, it is pertinent to see where India stands in a global survey of budget transparency covering more than 100 countries. A global survey on...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: During the last two years, the government collected more than Rs 16,400 crore as Swachh Bharat cess, meant to fund sanitation schemes, but the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pointed out nearly a quarter of the collection has stayed outside the dedicated fund. While collections through the 0.5% cess on all services was meant to be transferred to a non-lapsable Rashtriya Swachhta Kosh, over Rs...

-Hindustan Times Audit report says most food testing labs in country are ill-equipped. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), India’s constitutionally mandated federal auditor, has cited serious lapses in enforcing food-safety norms in the country, which, it said, could be putting public health at risk. A majority of the country’s food-testing laboratories were poorly managed, the report said. It found that 65 of the 72 state-wide food laboratories were not accredited to the...

-Frontline.in The Assembly elections have put under intense scrutiny Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model of development which is touted as worthy of replication throughout the country. Audit reports of the CAG provide ample evidence of it being inefficient, corrupt and not beneficial to the common people. THE standard indicators of development, as is understood in theory and practice, comprise a range of indices, and not necessarily the level of private investment in...

-HardNewsMedia.com The CAG’s latest performance audit of flood control schemes and flood forecasting shows how little is done to manage flood-induced disasters Of India’s total geographical area of 329 milion hectares, about 45.64 million hectares are stated to be flood-prone, according to estimates in 1980. The Working Group for the Flood Management Programme for the 11th Five Year Plan (December 2006) estimated that, on average, 7.55 million hectares get affected, 1,560 lives...