UPSCpedia: Polipedia: Comptroller and Auditor General of India

• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an authority, established by the Constitution of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government.
• The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies.
• The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures .
  
• The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India is appointed by the President of India following a recommendation by the Prime Minister.
• The CAG could not be removed from office other than through a procedure of impeachment similar to what is applicable to a Judge of the Supreme Court of India
• The Constitution of India [Art.148] provides for an independent office to the CAG of India. He/she is the head of Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
• Specifically, audits include:
  • Transactions relating to debt, deposits, remittances, Trading, and manufacturing
  • Profit and loss accounts and balance sheets kept under the order of the President or Governors
  • Receipts and stock accounts.
• Recently Vinod Rai, 11th CAG, has been appointed as external auditor of two major UN organisations, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
• Vinod Rai has also been elected the Chairman of the United Nations' panel of external auditors.