'India Shining' was unauthorised: CAG

No Budget provision was made for campaign

The National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) "India Shining" has come in for sharp criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India. The CAG has termed the Rs 63-crore expenditure on media campaign as unauthorised.

"The expenditure of Rs 63 crore was incurred through diversion of funds, even though this activity was not envisaged in the annual Plan," the CAG report said today.

The report, which was tabled in Parliament today, said the economic affairs department drew money from the Consolidated Fund, without presenting the demand before Parliament.

The report said any expenditure not contemplated in the annual Plan of the ministry should have been classified as new service/new instrument of service. The ministry was then supposed to place the supplementary demand for grant in Parliament.

But, the ministry, in its annual Plan simply re-appropriated Rs 68 crore under the sub-head "Co-operation with other Countries" to "Other Expenditure", the report said. This meant that the funds were drawn from the Consolidated Fund, it added.

The ministry's explanation, that the expenditure did not attract the limitations of new service/new instrument of service classification, as the provision was to support the overall promotion of India, was untenable, the report said.

"Not only were the requirements regarding appropriations were not followed, but the nature and purpose of the campaign did not agree with the major head under which the demand was made," the report said.

The proposal for launching the campaign highlighting the benefits of economic reforms was mooted in 2002, but no Budget provision was made in 2003-04.

The empowered sub-group set up in September 2003 under the chairmanship of the chief economic adviser, ministry of finance, had decided that the media campaign would be sponsored by various stakeholders in economic reforms like banks, financial institutions and the corporate sector, the report added.

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Under a cloud

• The Rs 63 crore expenditure was incurred on the campaign through diversion of funds
• The economic affairs department drew money from the Consolidated Fund of India, without presenting the demand before Parliament
• The ministry re-appropriated Rs 68 crore under the sub-head of 'co-operation with other countries' to 'other expenditure'