SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SMT. PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW CAG OFFICE BUILDING AND THE ACCOUNTANTS GENERAL CONFERENCE

New Delhi, 14th October 2008

I am very happy to be here for the inauguration of both the 24th Conference of Accountants General, as well as the new office building of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

A person no less than the architect of the Constitution of our country, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, visualized the CAG as one of the most important institutions in our democratic set up. As an impartial and independent evaluator of the functioning of the Government, its role was to infuse accountability in the governance framework. The institution of the CAG has had a distinguished history in India. Its role since independence in public financial accountability and probity have been widely recognized and appreciated.

Our national agenda seeks an inclusive and broad-based growth process so that its benefits, in terms of income and employment, are adequately shared by the poor, weaker and vulnerable sections of our society. As a stakeholder in development and good governance, the CAG should align its audit priorities with the current and strategic priorities of the Government. Schemes targeted for the welfare of specified groups of the country are being implemented such as the National Rural Health Mission, the Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and such others, which contribute to the improvement of human development indicators of our country. The success of these schemes, the efficiency of their delivery mechanisms and effective monitoring of the actual benefits reaching the targeted population is vital for progress of our country.

Auditors should partner the Government and pay specific heed to social sector programmes to ensure that the objectives of social justice and equity are met. I understand that the CAG is conducting performance audits of many development schemes. I would like it to assess the impact of these schemes on the living standards of the people. Similarly, issues relating to gender disparity, access to health care and quality education, rural development, employment and social security must be highlighted in audit reports. The aim of the audit should be to add value through constructive recommendations for improving performance and accountability. To take a case, I am told that the performance audit of educational development of SCs and STs (2007) disclosed that the occupancy in hostels for girls was considerably high in comparison to capacity, indicating over-crowding in hostels and lack of adequate accommodation. For policy makers this is an important pointer for adopting a policy that encourages the setting up of more hostels for girls so that they can pursue their education.

One of the biggest challenges is the leakages in delivery systems. These need to be plugged. Sometimes, instead of real achievement on ground, there are "paper achievements". Such tendencies can be curbed by an effective audit and monitoring system. Auditors should see how the outcome budgeting process, which has been adopted by the Government, where the effectiveness of the financial outlays is measured against specific outcomes and targets, can be made effective. Benchmarking and indices of performance to measure and assess quality of implementation can make this process result-oriented. The Planning Commission has placed renewed emphasis on the role of the CAG and recommended the strengthening of its watchdog role. I am glad that this Conference of Accountants General will reflect on how best the institution of the CAG can be strengthened, so as to ensure transparency, accountability and probity in public finance, and better value for every Rupee spent from the public exchequer.

The CAG reports must be submitted in a timely manner so that their recommendations can be acted on and delays in implementation can be avoided. The CAG could also look at maintaining a dialogue with the concerned Ministries during the implementation stage of projects and schemes. This could enable them to give their inputs at every stage for correcting aberrations in the implementation process.

The delay in implementation of the infrastructure projects is a matter of concern. There are projects that have time over-runs or remain incomplete or abandoned halfway, which deny the fruits of public investment to the nation. The CAG should appraise these projects and recommend the way forward in respect of the "blocked investments". For this, it is necessary that auditors have the expertise for preparing reviews on issues relating to infrastructure projects.

Economic reforms over the last few years have resulted in an increasing role of the private sector as a partner with the Government in the development process. In view of the investment deficit in infrastructure, the Government has been involving private partners through Public-Private Partnership ventures. Such ventures are meant not only to bridge the investment gap, but also improve the quality of infrastructure services to meet international standards. This is an area where the CAG could make a difference and tell the Government whether value for money is being received, the delivery systems are functioning and whether the public is getting the envisaged high quality services. Good examples can be highlighted so that others can take lessons from them.

Consistent with the philosophy of devolution of powers, the role of local self-government institutions was strengthened under constitutional amendments in 1993. Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies are involved in the implementation and monitoring of development schemes, and maintenance of public assets at the level of Gram Panchayats and the Gram Sabhas. The CAG can support these bodies in financial accountability by working out a simple framework for audit purposes. Today, there are 1.2 million women who have been elected to Panchayats and urban local bodies. Sometimes, it happens that due to lack of full comprehension of issues and illiteracy, these women are simply made to put their thumb impressions on documents and, later they find themselves in difficult situations. The CAG should look at how these women can be acquainted with proper accounting procedure, by sensitizing local audit teams to contribute to capacity building. The philosophy of auditing should respond to changing times. This should be reflected at the operational levels.

I am happy to note that the CAG's team received the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for its pioneering work in the field of Information Technology Auditing. I congratulate you for the same. This is very much in line with the country's robust world-wide reputation in the field of Information Technology and the Government's move towards e-facilitation in the provision of various public services.

Internationally also, the CAG has been playing a very significant role and is the External Auditor for UN agencies like World Health Organization and Food & Agriculture Organization.

I conclude by emphasizing that an office building is not just a concrete structure. It also personifies the spirit and strength of the organisation it houses. I hope that the new office building will further the zeal and renew the commitment of the CAG and his institution towards redefining their role from 'accountability officers', to partners in the progress of the nation.

With these words, I inaugurate the new office building of the CAG of India, and declare the 24th Conference of Accountants General open.

Thank You.

Jai Hind.