Now,CAG proposes to cover all public expenditure,PPP projects

The statement comes days after Rai said that the credibility of the government was at its ‘lowest’ and that decision making has become a ‘casualty’ and triggered a debate over CAG’s mandate.

He was speaking during the concluding ceremony of the 18th Retreat of the CAG at the National Academy of Audit & Accounts in Shimla.

Justifying the need for audit of the public expenditure to ensure greater accountability and transparency,Rai stressed on the need for close interaction with the auditee institutions for an effective role of the CAG in the changed scenario.

“There is a strong need for an efficient system of audit for successful delivery of government services. The public demand for transparency in the government programmes,including the PPP projects,is likely to increase manifold in the days to come,” the CAG added.

Earlier,Rekha Gupta,the Deputy CAG (report central) spoke on the role of the CAG in the social sector audit and its synergy with social audit.

The two-day seminar was attended by secretaries of seven Union ministries and principal secretaries (finance) of some of the states.

Earlier,the Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh had addressed the opening session of the seminar on Saturday. Ramesh had suggested to use the audit recommendations as an input for good governance.

The participants of the seminar also agreed that there is an urgent need to use audit for better governance and that this is possible only if the CAG mandate is enhanced and the executive becomes more responsive to audit.