People want to move rapidly to make India developed nation by 2047: Prez
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said people of the nation want to move forward rapidly towards building a developed India by 2047 and called upon important organisations, including Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), to contribute towards the goal.
Addressing a gathering at the 3rd Audit Diwas Celebrations organised by CAG, the President noted that CAG has taken many forward-looking steps, including the establishment of the Centre for Data Management and Analytics, in which digital technology and other modern methods are being used in line with the future.
"Today our countrymen want to move forward rapidly towards building a developed India by the year 2047. All important institutions and communities of the country, including CAG, have to contribute to achieve this goal," Murmu said.
Audit Diwas commemorates the occasion of the appointment of the first Auditor General of India on November 16, 1860 and creation of the CAG organisation.
Recognising the significance of the day in the annals of the Indian history, since 2021, the CAG has celebrated November 16 as Audit Diwas.
The President said that the entire team of CAG is expected to contribute as a controller and an examiner who is both a companion and a guide in the country's developmental journey.
She stated that the CAG team will have an important role in making India the third largest economy in the world.
She further said that the impact of today's market system characterised by global competition is relevant to all institutions and enterprises. The ability to compete on the basis of ethics should continuously increase in all enterprises and activities of the country.
Removing obstacles in achieving the national goals of accelerated growth and development while ensuring financial propriety and legality is the touchstone of effective contribution by every institution and individual responsible for good governance, including the CAG, the President added.
She also emphasised that the auditors should be considered as facilitators of good governance, not critics.
CAG Girish Chandra Murmu said that in cognisance of the paradigm shift in governance to a digital bedrock, the apex auditor too has leveraged technology.
"...this year we achieved a remarkable milestone. Effective April 2023, we have transitioned to 100 per cent digital auditing processes, utilising our unique enterprise-wide audit process and knowledge management IT System (One IAAD One System - OIOS), creating a single source of truth for our audit activities," he said.
This achievement, he added is attributable to the unstinting efforts of many, those who conceptualised it, designed it, painstakingly integrated module after module, valiantly initiated implementation, training many, hand-holding 24X7.
"Data analytics is a regular feature of our audit processes and routinely deploying advanced tools like drones, Global Positioning System (GPS) and remote sensing has enabled us to make incisive observations that would not have been possible otherwise," the CAG said.
He informed that concerted efforts of the organisation resulted in 183 audit reports covering the entire gamut of government activities, tabled in Parliament and State Legislatures, during 2022-23.
He further said CAG is a forward-looking institution that does not believe in resting on its laurels.
Murmu also highlighted the issue related to non-availability of qualified and trained accountants in adequate numbers willing to work across various tiers of local self government, municipalities and panchayats, particularly in lower tiers and remote localities.
One of the primary reasons is the shortage of Chartered Accountants. They are not readily available for such assignments due to low remuneration and remoteness of locations, he noted.
To address this problem, CAG and ICAI have entered into an MoU under which a certification course will be available to generate a skilled talent pool of accountants, Murmu said, and added the local self government in states will have the choice and discretion to hire them to prepare their accounts on payment of requisite remuneration.
This skill development initiative will go a long way in not only timely preparation of accounts and audit of local self government but will also help in availing of the applicable performance grant, subject to fulfilling of other criterion of the Finance Commission, he added.
