The annual confidential report (ACRs) of an IAS officer may now depend a lot on the administrative skills he shows in the implementation of several centrally-sponsored social sector programmes and how effectively he takes a district up on the developmental parameters. Concerned at largescale leakages in many of the social sector schemes, the Manmohan Singh government has asked its official auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), to change the...

The country's premier auditor, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has won the prestigious bid to audit the United Nations World Food Programme. The audit is awarded for a period of six years. The CAG is considered among the best six official auditors in the world, ranked only after Canada, US, UK and France. The food programme was last audited by France. In the final bid process, India beat Philippines and...

The Cobalt-60 radiation tragedy at Mayapuri in Delhi has unearthed many skeletons, which some seem to be desperate to hide. There is already a life lost, and maybe others irrevocably damaged, while everyone is busy hurling accusations at each other. This is a typical response. Instead, we need to examine the systemic problems that this incident has indicated. While those who were negligent must be punished, there are many questions...

* Documentary evidence gathered by the Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Rajasthan points to large-scale embezzlement in nrega projects * Panchayats often furnish fake bills and fictitious companies have been floated to divert funds * Hundreds of crores are lost to this sort of leakage * The CAG, too, has pointed out  large-scale irregularities and corruption in the implementation of NREGA projects...

A new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Bill, likely to be introduced in the next session of Parliament, will bring the institution of CAG under the ambit of the Right to Information Act. Talking to the media on the sidelines of the 25th Conference of Accountants General here on Monday, CAG of India Vinod Rai said the new Bill would seek to replace the CAG Act, 1971, and empower the institution...