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India's apex auditor is building the necessary infrastructure and processes to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for auditing processes and to audit AI applications themselves as the country aims to become a USD 30-trillion economy by 2047, CAG K Sanjay Murthy said. Speaking at the World Forum of Accountants hosted by ICAI on Saturday, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Murthy said a USD 30-trillion economy will be necessarily digital, as organisations expand into emerging areas, and global champions are born. Accounting and auditing professionals will have to provide the required support. "Adopting new technologies would help bring required efficiencies in the accounting and auditing processes. Taking a leadership role in developing and adapting innovative technological practices would also help Indian firms to become global champions," he said, while addressing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) programme here on Saturday. Underlinin
The Delhi High Court will on January 24 pass order on a plea by Delhi opposition MLAs seeking a sitting of the Delhi assembly for tabling CAG reports. Justice Sachin Datta would pronounce the judgement. Opposition leader Vijender Gupta and BJP MLAs -- Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan -- filed the petition last year and sought a direction to the speaker to call a sitting of the assembly for the purpose of tabling the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports. The petitioners filed the plea through advocates Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain. The senior lawyers for the speaker and the Delhi government opposed the passing of such a direction by the court and said there was no urgency to table the reports at this stage when the assembly elections were due to be held soon. In a reply, the assembly secretariat said no useful purpose would be served in laying CAG reports before the assembly when its tenure was .
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva on Monday claimed that a CAG report raised 139 questions related to the former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's previous Flagstaff Road residence and exposed his "black deeds" Hitting back, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh termed it as a classic diversionary tactic by the BJP and claimed that the saffron party had lost the narrative war in the run-up to the assembly elections. Addressing a press conference, Sachdeva said that the Comptroller and Auditor General's report of 2022 cited an expenditure of Rs 33.66 crore on the "Sheesh Mahal" but the actual cost was far higher. "This report pertains to expenditure till 2022. There is no revelation on expenses of 2023 and 2024 and, according to our information, the real cost runs up to Rs 75-80 crore if the inventory of the items in the bungalow is included," he claimed. The BJP has sharpened its attack on Kejriwal ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, alleging corruption related to the 6, Flagstaf
The accumulated losses of state public sector enterprises (PSEs) rose from Rs 3,953.70 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 4,778.70 crore in 2022-23, while the profit earned by 13 SPSEs stood at Rs 20.21 crore as on September 30, 2023, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on finances tabled in the Assembly on Saturday. The net worth of nine out of these 14 PSEs has been completely eroded by losses and their worth was (-) Rs 1,932 crore against an equity investment of Rs 2,085.59 crore, while three PSEs have outstanding government loans amounting Rs 3,132 crore, the report said. Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board topped the list of loss making enterprises with accumulated losses of Rs 1,809.61 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh Road Corporation at Rs 1707.12 crore, HP Power Corporation at Rs 552 crore, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation at Rs 395.91 crore, HP Financial Corporation at Rs 180.97 crore, State Forest Corporation at Rs 113.04 crore, HPM
The Supreme Court on Friday said the CAG report looking into the financial record of the DND project in 2016 revealed shocking details including distribution of corporate gifts like gold coins to its employees, sub-staff and drivers. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan upheld the Allahabad High Court order of 2016 directing the private firm Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) to stop collecting toll from commuters plying the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway connecting South Delhi and Noida. "The CAG report shockingly reveals that the directors of NTBCL, including Pradeep Puri (who it seems was a senior bureaucrat), apparently did not perform any responsibility, yet all their expenses, including high-end remuneration were added in the total project cost," it said. Referring to the report, the bench said legal fees amounting to Rs 11 crore, travelling expenses amounting to Rs 400 lakh, and the cost of restructuring deep discount bonds at Rs 33 crore, were also added to th
State-owned Oriental Insurance Company Ltd incurred a loss of Rs 194 crore during FY20 for failing to properly determine bidding rates for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, said a CAG report. According to report number 12 presented in Parliament earlier this week, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd determined the bidding rates for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna in 2019-20 by applying pricing components uniformly without specific determination as per the terms and conditions of the Agriculture Quota Share Reinsurance treaty with General Insurance Corporation of India, being Re-insurer. "This led to imposition of Loss Corridor clause of the treaty by GIC and consequent loss of Rs 194.08 crore," it said. Imprudent underwriting of Group Janta Personal Accident Policy of the Maharashtra state government by the public sector general insurance company without reinsurance cover and in violation of guidelines of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in 2018-19 led to a
Delhi government has forwarded all 14 pending reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the LG for his approval to table them in the assembly after more than one and half years of delay, Raj Niwas said on Saturday. The Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta has already asked the AAP government to call a special session of the assembly, which will be completing its five years tenure in February next year, for the tabling of the CAG reports. Gupta in a petition filed in the high court earlier, sought directions to the government to lay 14 long-pending CAG Reports in the assembly. No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on the issue. "It took the fear of an adverse order by the Delhi High Court for the AAP government to hurriedly submit the long-pending CAG Reports to the LG to seek his permission, for making it possible for the reports to be made public, by placing them in the Assembly," the office of the Lieutenant Governor said in
With its per capita income far exceeding the national average, Tamil Nadu was faring better in its contribution to national economy and the state's industries and services sectors played a pivotal role in increasing the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by 14 per cent in 2022-2023 amounting to Rs 23,64,514 crore, Principal Accountant General (Audit-I), Tamil Nadu, D Jaishankar said on Tuesday. As regards the resources of the state government, he said the revenue receipts increased by 17.47 per cent during 2022-2023 when compared to the previous year because of an increase in both tax revenue and non-tax revenue. Briefing reporters on the State Finances Audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year ended March 2023, tabled in the Assembly earlier in the day, he said the state GDP in 2022-2023 was Rs 23,64,514 crore, an increase by 14 per cent over the previous year. "Industries and services sectors were the main contributors and the per capita income of
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found certain irregularities in funding to dedicated private Covid care hospitals (DCHs) set up in Odisha during the Covid-19 pandemic period. In a report tabled at the state assembly on Saturday, the CAG said the Odisha government in April 2020 had issued guidelines for operations of the DCHs, managed by private hospitals. The CAG examined the related records/ documents of 18 DCHs, located in the districts of Khurda and Cuttack. It was noticed that 51,967 Covid patients had been treated in these 18 DCHs in the first two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Rs 724.50 crore had been incurred for the purpose. The audit observed irregularities in passing the bills for payment, without proper check/ verification of documents. Thus, payment of Rs 144.88 crore to the DCHs, without verification of basic documents/ records, was irregular, the CAG said in its report. Similarly, the auditor has also found irregularities worth Rs 2.73 cror
K Sanjay Murthy, former higher education secretary, on Thursday took charge as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He belongs to Indian Administrative Service of Himachal Pradesh cadre (1989 batch). Murthy succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu, who demitted office on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Murthy was sworn in as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India by President Droupadi Murmu at a function in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prior to this, Murthy was Secretary, Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and CEO, National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Murthy was named the new CAG by the Centre on Monday. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, among others, were present at the oath-taking ...
The government on Monday said K Sanjay Murthy will be the next Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Murthy, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, will succeed Girish Chandra Murmu. He is currently Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. "By virtue of the power vested in her by clause (1) of article 148 of the Constitution of India, the President has been pleased to appoint K Sanjay Murthy to be the Comptroller and Auditor General of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said a notification issued by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on August 8, 2020. He will complete his term on November 20.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu on Saturday urged officers to think out of the box, experiment with new techniques, and adapt to the changing technological and governance environment. With the increasing use of AI and emerging technologies to provide services, he said there are numerous risks, ranging from privacy breaches and algorithmic biases to social exclusion. "...as an organisation, we are deeply cognisant of these developments and are engaging closely with emerging technological trends for enhancing the effectiveness of auditing and accounting practices in such a landscape," he said at the 4th Audit Diwas celebrations here. Murmu emphasised that in the quest for strengthening auditing and accounting practices, "all offices of the CAG's organisation are encouraged to think out-of-the-box and adapt to changing technological and governance environment" by experimenting with new techniques, which help in nurturing creativity in methodologies,
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu on Saturday urged officers to think out of the box, experiment with new techniques, and adapt to the changing technological and governance environment. With the increasing use of AI and emerging technologies to provide services, he said there are numerous risks, ranging from privacy breaches and algorithmic biases to social exclusion. "...as an organisation, we are deeply cognisant of these developments and are engaging closely with emerging technological trends for enhancing the effectiveness of auditing and accounting practices in such a landscape," he said at the 4th Audit Diwas celebrations here. Murmu emphasised that in the quest for strengthening auditing and accounting practices, "all offices of the CAG's organisation are encouraged to think out-of-the-box and adapt to changing technological and governance environment" by experimenting with new techniques, which help in nurturing creativity in methodologies,
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response of the AAP government on a plea filed by several BJP MLAs seeking a direction to place 12 CAG reports related to liquor duty, pollution and finance before the assembly. Justice Sanjeev Narula subsequently issued a notice to the Delhi government, the office of Legislative Assembly speaker, the lieutenant governor (LG), the comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) and the accountant general (audit), Delhi. The matter was posted for hearing on December 9. The petition has been filed by leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta and Delhi BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan. During the hearing, the counsel representing the lawmakers sought an earlier date of hearing owing to certain "compelling reasons". The counsel appearing for one of the respondents, however, claimed the plea was filed with a political motive. The plea, on the ot