Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said “Comptroller and Auditor General [CAG] versus government” had earlier become a common thought and auditing was looked upon with apprehension and dread. However, the mindset had now changed and today audit was being considered an important part of value addition.
Speaking at the first Audit Diwas, he stated that the CAG had changed rapidly by adopting modern procedures and it was now using advanced analytics tools, geo-spatial data and satellite imagery. The institution had grown in importance and had created a legacy with the passage of time.
“In the 21st century, data is information, and in the coming times, our history will also be seen and understood through data. In the future, data will dictate history,” he observed. CAG studies on the current government initiatives could become a source of knowledge and inspiration for future generations.
The CAG not just kept track of the nation's accounts, but also did value addition in productivity and efficiency. Therefore, deliberations on the Audit Day and related programmes were part of improvement and improvisation.
Earlier, due to lack of transparency in the banking sector, various wrong practices were followed and as a result, non-performing assets (NPAs) kept increasing. “You know very well, how in the past, NPAs were brushed under the carpet. However, we have put the truth of the previous governments in front of the country with complete honesty. We will find the solutions only when we recognise the problems,” he noted.
The circumstances had now changed and were changing further rapidly. The country was moving forward on the path of holistic development due to the continuous efforts of numerous countrymen, government departments, administrative agencies, health, banking and the private sectors.
Mr. Modi suggested focussed studies into various initiatives, also by the CAG, to assess their impact. Such studies would be beneficial for the future governments.
‘Sarkar Sarvam’
“Today we are making such a system in which the thinking of ‘Sarkar Sarvam’, i.e. the interference of the government, is decreasing and your work is also getting easier,” he remarked. This was in accordance with the “minimum government maximum governance” policy.
“Contactless customs, automatic renewals, faceless assessments, online applications for service delivery...all these reforms have ended the unnecessary interference of the government,” he pointed out.
Commending the CAG for its contributions even during the pandemic, he suggested that the auditing body could study the practices that emerged during the country’s extraordinary fight against COVID-19.
Earlier, Mr. Modi unveiled a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu apprised the Prime Minister of the best practices adopted by the institution. Despite the pandemic, in 2020-21, the CAG submitted 123 audit reports, of which 67 were performance audits, he highlighted.