Comptroller and Auditor General

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is a constitutional functionary created by Article 148 of the Constitution, charged with auditing all receipts and expenditure of the Union, the States, and bodies substantially financed from public revenues. The office derives its powers from the Comptroller and Auditor General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, while the form and manner of accounts are prescribed under Article 150. Audit reports relating to the Union are submitted to the President under Article 151(1) and those relating to a State to the Governor under Article 151(2), who cause them to be laid before Parliament or the State Legislature respectively. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar described the CAG as the most important officer under the Constitution, the guardian of the public purse, ranking with the judiciary in significance.

The CAG is appointed by the President and enjoys robust security of tenure: a term of six years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier, and removal only in the manner provided for a Supreme Court judge under Article 124(4)—that is, by an address of both Houses on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Salary and conditions are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, cannot be varied to disadvantage after appointment, and the holder is barred from further office under the Government of India or any State. The CAG conducts three principal kinds of audit—regularity (legal and financial) audit, propriety audit, and performance (efficiency-cum-effectiveness) audit—and reports separately on Appropriation Accounts, Finance Accounts, and public-sector undertakings. After the DPC Act amendment of 1976, accounting and audit functions were separated, with the CAG retaining audit alone at the Union level.

The CAG's reports are scrutinised by the financial committees of Parliament—the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU), and the Estimates Committee—making the CAG the "friend, philosopher and guide" of the PAC. Landmark performance audits include the 2G spectrum allocation report (2010) estimating a presumptive loss of ₹1.76 lakh crore and the Coal block allocation report (2012), both of which triggered major political and judicial consequences, including the Supreme Court's cancellation of allocations. The current incumbent, as the 15th CAG, heads the Indian Audit and Accounts Department staffed by the IA&AS, and India's CAG has served as external auditor to UN bodies such as the WHO and IAEA, reflecting international standing. Critics note the CAG audits ex post facto and lacks the "comptroller" power exercised by the British counterpart, since in India no money leaves the Consolidated Fund only after CAG sanction.

For the UPSC examination this topic is central to GS Paper II (Polity and Governance)—constitutional bodies, accountability and financial control—and recurs in Prelims through factual questions on Articles 148–151, tenure, and removal procedure. Mains questions typically probe the CAG's role in ensuring executive accountability, the adequacy of its powers, and its relationship with the PAC, often demanding comparison with the parliamentary control of finance and the distinction between the Indian and British offices.