Revision summary
Articles 148 to 151 create an independent CAG whose reports must be laid in the Houses. The 1971 Act specifies duties; compliance, attest, and performance audits are the tools. PAC converts audit findings into executive accountability. Custodianship is post-facto sunlight, not a prior freeze on every payment. The CAG cannot prosecute or replace Cabinet policy. The title is fair as the legislature’s auditor of public money.
Model answer
Introduction
Public money is voted by legislatures and spent by executives. The Comptroller and Auditor General is the constitutional auditor who tells the Houses whether that money was spent as authorised, with economy and result. Custodianship is therefore report-based, not a day-to-day lock on every treasury cheque.
Body
Constitutional custodianship
- Article 148 constitutes an independent CAG, appointed by the President, removable like a Supreme Court judge, with salary charged on the Consolidated Fund.
- Articles 149 to 151, read with the CAG’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, set the audit of Union and State accounts and the laying of reports in the legislatures.
- Because the CAG is not a government department, custodianship is meant to be fearless towards the very executive that spends.
How the custodian works
- Compliance audit asks whether spending followed the Appropriation Act, financial rules, and competence.
- Financial attest audit certifies accounts so that the Houses know the books are not fiction.
- Performance and thematic audits ask whether schemes got value for money—the reports that made 2G, coal allocation, and some defence purchases public language.
- State Accountant Generals under the CAG audit State spending; local bodies and public sector units enter through statute and regulations.
- Reports go to the President or Governor and are laid before the House; the Public Accounts Committee examines them, which is how audit becomes political control.
Why “custodian” is a fair title
- Without the CAG, the budget would be a permission slip with no independent after-check.
- Separation of the audit function from the Controller General of Accounts keeps the spender’s accountant distinct from the legislature’s auditor.
- In a Westminster system the CAG is the House’s officer in substance even though appointment is executive.
Limits of the custody
- Audit is largely post-facto; it cannot stop an illegal payment the evening it is made, unlike some colonial comptroller models.
- The CAG cannot prosecute; CBI, CVC, and courts must pick up a finding.
- Appointment process, access to digital files, and delays in tabling can blunt custody.
- Policy choices remain the executive’s; the CAG may question propriety but cannot substitute the Cabinet.
- Examination therefore treats the CAG as custodian of regularity and value, not as a parallel finance minister.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD V[Legislature votes money] --> X[Executive spends] X --> C[CAG audit Arts 148-151] C --> R[Reports to House] R --> P[PAC examination] P --> V
Conclusion
The CAG is India’s constitutional custodian of public money because independent audit, charged status, and PAC examination close the loop between vote and spend. Custody is powerful as sunlight and limited as a prior veto, which is the design of a parliamentary, not a pre-audit, State.
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Next question in the 2021 paper (Q18). View answer →
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Does the CAG control disbursement before payment, as a comptroller?
In India the role is overwhelmingly auditor after spend. Prior control of every cheque is not the working model.
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Are CAG reports binding on the government?
They are authoritative findings for the House. The executive may explain or reject; PAC and politics decide the follow-up.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
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2025 · Q13 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
"The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is the supreme authority of India's finance." Critically analyse his functions and position in the light of this statement. -
2018 · Q10 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Examine the constitutional position of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
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