Observing that the CAG plays a key role in ensuring transparency and accountability in public finance, President Droupadi Murmu said Tuesday the office of the CAG has lived up to the expectations of the Constitution-makers. Addressing the opening session of the 16th assembly of Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), Murmu said, “The CAG of India plays a key role in ensuring transparency and accountability in country’s public finance. It was not without reason that the Indian Constitution vested the office of CAG with a wide mandate and complete autonomy. I believe the office of the CAG has lived up to the expectations of the Constitution-makers.” Stating that Mahatma Gandhi should be a “role model”, especially for independent supreme audit institutions, the President said, “He would have wanted public auditors to speak truth – without ambiguity. Sharpness and bluntness are opposing qualities, but an ideal public auditor is one who combines them.” Highlighting that the mandate of public sector audits has expanded beyond traditional auditing to include assessing effectiveness of public welfare schemes and projects, she said, “Audit, therefore, needs to keep up with the technological evolution in order to be able to perform its oversight functions effectively.”
