CAG should be catalyst of good governance, says PM Modi at Accountants General conclave

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the Accountants General and Deputy Accountants General Conclave in Delhi and said that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) cannot remain limited to data and procedures but should come forward as a catalyst for good governance. 

"I am pleased to see that you are committed to making CAG as CAG plus," said PM Modi in his address. 

Saying "today all the stakeholders want accurate audits, so that they can execute their plans properly, but they also don't want the audit process to take a lot of time", PM Modi asked the auditors to focus on process audit.

Addressing the conclave, PM Modi said that your responsibility is increased as the duty of keeping the nation and society's economic behaviour lies on you and the nation's expectations are also heightened."

PM Modi added that CAG has to develop technical tools to root out frauds in departments. He further said that the CAG acts as a mirror to governmental agencies and shows them their shortcomings. CAG has played an important role in the outcome-based, time-based approach to work process in the country, he said.

Ahead of his address, PM Modi had unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office premises earlier on Thursday.

The conclave is being held on the theme "Transforming Audit and Assurance in a Digital World" to consolidate experience and learning, and chart out the path of Indian Audit and Accounts Department for the next few years.