GS Paper 2 10 marks · 150w 9 min Easy

“The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has a very vital role to play.” Explain how this is reflected in the method and terms of his appointment as well as the range of powers he can exercise.

Subtopic: Constitution & Polity · Comptroller and Auditor General

Model answer outline

How to structure your answer

Introduction (Ambedkar: most important officer; Articles 148–151) → independence built into appointment and terms: warrant appointment, secure tenure, judge-like removal, charged salary, bar on future office → range of powers: audit of Union, states and financed bodies, DPC Act 1971, Article 279 certification, reports and PAC linkage → Conclusion

Full model answer

Detailed model answer

222 words · target 150 words · 9 min

Dr B.R. Ambedkar called the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) the most important officer under the Constitution. Articles 148–151 secure the independence this role demands.

Appointment and Terms Reflecting the Vital Role

Appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal; holds office for six years or until 65, whichever is earlier.
Removable only like a Supreme Court judge — proved misbehaviour or incapacity, special majority of both Houses — never at the President's pleasure.
Salary equals a Supreme Court judge's; salary and office expenses are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, non-votable.
Service conditions cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment; he is ineligible for further office under the Union or any state.

Range of Powers

Audits all expenditure from the Consolidated Funds of the Union, states and UTs with legislatures, plus contingency funds and public accounts.
Under the CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, audits government companies and bodies substantially financed from public revenues, covering both legality and propriety.
Certifies the net proceeds of taxes under Article 279; his reports go to the President or Governor and are laid before the legislature (Article 151).
Acts as the guide, friend and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee, making legislative control of finance effective.

Insulated appointment plus comprehensive audit jurisdiction make the CAG the pivot of executive accountability to Parliament in financial matters.

Key points

What an examiner expects to see

Frame with Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly remark and the constitutional basis in Articles 148–151.
Independence in appointment: presidential warrant, six years or age 65, removal only like a Supreme Court judge by special majority for proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Financial insulation: salary of a Supreme Court judge, salary and office expenses charged on the Consolidated Fund of India; service conditions cannot be worsened mid-tenure.
Post-tenure bar: no further office under the Union or a state — prevents inducement through future patronage.
Audit sweep: Consolidated Funds of Union, states and UTs with legislatures; contingency funds and public accounts; substantially financed bodies and government companies under the DPC Act, 1971.
Beyond legality to propriety audit; certification of net proceeds of taxes under Article 279.
Reports under Article 151 feed the PAC — CAG as its 'guide, friend and philosopher' — completing the accountability loop.

Examples to use

Concrete cases, schemes and judgments

CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971 — the statutory charter of audit jurisdiction.
Landmark performance audits — 2G spectrum (2010) and coal block allocation (2012) reports — that triggered cancellations by the Supreme Court and policy change to auctions.
Article 279 certification of net proceeds of taxes, binding for Centre–state distribution.
Ambedkar's Constituent Assembly statement calling the CAG the most important officer of the Constitution.

Keywords / terms

Terminology to weave into the answer

Articles 148–151charged expenditurepropriety auditDPC Act 1971Public Accounts Committeeguardian of the public purse