The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) submitted 21 Audit Reports for the year ended March 2006 on Union Government Departments to the President, which were laid before the Parliament during the last budget session. Additionally, nearly a dozen Commercial Audit Reports of the CAG on Central Government companies and corporations were also tabled in the Parliament during the same session. Wire money online to India with Xoom.com for as low as $4.99. The Audit Reports contain the result of audit appraisals of the programmes, schemes and activities of Government departments and undertakings focusing on the economy and efficiency of their implementation as well as the extent of achievement of their objectives. The Audit Reports also contain transaction audit paragraphs commenting on significant and high value cases of wasteful, extravagant and infructuous expenditure and loss of Government revenue. Nearly 1500 cases feature in the Audit Reports on Government Departments every year. The Commercial Audit Reports generally comment upon about 200 cases. Under the Rules of Business of the Lok Sabha, the Audit Reports on Government Departments stand automatically remitted to the Parliament’s Committee on Public Accounts for follow up action. The Commercial Audit Reports are remitted to Committee on Public Undertakings. The committees are empowered to call for Government records and summon Government secretaries for their oral submissions. The committees represent the Parliament in miniature and function on nonparty lines, and their reports are almost always unanimous. Government is required to respond to the recommendations of the committees, generally within a period of six months, and the committees may make further reports in the light of Government replies. The committees’ reports are tabled in the Parliament. In view of the very large number of Audit Reports that are presented every year and the limited time available for their detailed follow up in the manner aforesaid, the committees have devised a selective approach. The committees undertake detailed follow up action and summon the departmental secretaries for oral evidence in selected cases only. The action on the remaining Audit Reports and paragraphs rests almost entirely with the action taken notes which the Government Departments are required to furnish suo moto to the committees’ secretariat within four months after the Audi Reports are laid before the Parliament. The follow up action by the PAC and the COPU with reference to the Audit Reports represent the culmination [...]
Archive for January 15th, 2008
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BRAVEHEART BHAJJI
January 15th, 2008 
krishna Harbhajan Singh had just become the first Indian to take a Test hat-trick. It was against Steve Waugh’s Australia on a mission of stringing for themselves a record 17 Test wins at the Eden Gardens in early 2001. With the first three balls of his 16th over, he had Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist out leg-before and then a sharp catch by Sadagoppan Ramesh at short-leg got rid of Shane Warne sending Harbhajan off on a run like a footballer celebrates after scoring. Eden already had something to cheer about on the first day of the Test. The post-match media conferences used to be held in the lobby between the dressing rooms then. In a lighter vein, skipper Sourav Ganguly, on way to the Home Team room said something about ‘Bhajji’ taking questions in English. “Kya dada, aap bhi Na” the 21-year-old had said, with an aside that was not a bad mimicry of an Amitabh Bachchan film dialogue, “I can walk English.” He had only begun with typical spontaneity but checked himself with a wink and a mischievous smile when he realized he had to settle down for a press conference. It is this very North Indian and full-of-life air about the ‘Turbanator’ that lifts spirits in a dressing room. But that’s only when Harbhajan is taking wickets. During dry spells he can, according to some of his Punjab Ranji Trophy teammates, be very temperamental and moody. An emotional time: The Eden success came against the run of a series of downsides for the off-spinner. He had been called for chucking and had to pass the Fred Titmus test in England after being dropped from the side. He had lost his father, then his only friend, philosopher and guide and this was how he responded. In that three-Test series against Australia, he bagged a whopping 32 wickets when all the other bowlers’ combined haul was just over half that number. “He worked day in and day out on the machines himself,” Harbhajan said of his father in an interview. His hands would be caked and sore, his face would be grimy and he would keep working to make sure we had a better life. “We were very close. I miss him, he loved cricket and was so involved in it. He would have been so proud of me if he was here,” he had said after [...]
GET A SAFETY NETWORK
January 15th, 2008 krishna The beginning of a New Year demands that we list out our priorities for the year ahead and resolve to pay attention to them. I am sure you have guessed what I am going to put first in the list of priorities- consumer safety. Yes, in a country where accidents caused by the negligence of service providers and the administration are commonplace, consumer safety is a major concern. Consumers should pay utmost attention to this aspect in 2008. We, as consumers, need to become safety conscious and begin to look at everything from a safety perspective, and demand safer goods and services. We can focus on four main areas – homes, educational institutions where our children study, our work place and public places like markets, cinema halls, airports, railway stations and bus stations. Whether it is your gas cylinder, electrical and electronic gadgets or your bathroom flooring, make sure that safety precautions are always adhered to. You must be extra cautious if there are elderly people and children in the house. If you have a room heater on, ensure that it is not close to your curtains or near your carpet. Keep mosquito repellents, medicines, matchboxes and gas lighters, kitchen knives and scissors, out of the reach of children. Ensure that the toys that they play with are safe, don’t have sharp edges or toxic paints. When you buy electrical goods such as wires, switches, plugs and bulbs, look for the ISI mark. In a multi storied housing complex, you need to look at the safety of the lifts installed there is it regularly serviced? Does it have all modem features incorporating safety? Similarly, if there is a swim ming pool in the complex, you need to ensure that it is properly fenced and locked to keep out small children. Even when children swim, it is always good to ensure that they are under adult supervision. Check the safety of your child’s school, school bus and the playground. Have a meeting of the parents’ association, inspect the school and all the facilities that it offers to see if there is any lacuna. Is the school built in such a way as to ensure the safety of children studying there? Do they have firefighting equipment? Do they have proper exits for the children to escape in case of a fire or any other emergency? Is the playroom equipment [...]
BHARAT RATNA: WHO DESERVES ?
January 15th, 2008 Tejinder By proposing A.B. Vajpayee’s name for the prestigious Bharat Ratna award, L.K. Advani has tried to politicise the annual national honours, which are announced on the eve of the Republic Day. As if on cue, a section of the CPI (M) has also demanded a similar recognition its grand old patriarch, Jyoti Basu. While it is for the government and the awards panel to debate the merits and demerits of awarding the Bharat Ratna to the two senior politicians, Advani could have avoided a controversy at this stage. In fact, by demanding this award for Vajpayee, he has ensured that the former Prime Minister is dragged into a political debate. This would benefit Advani since his relationship with Vajpayee has never been smooth. This move is also aimed at helping Advani successfully woo the Brahmins to his side and embarrass the Manmohan Singh government. If the government awards the Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee, which many feel he deserves, the credit will go to Advani. However, it will make the Left and other secular parties unhappy. If the government declines, Advani will have the option to say that a senior parliamentarian like Vajpayee was ignored because of petty political reasons. The Congress and its UPA allies are trying to handle this issue diplomatically. But someone should have said clearly that no matter whether Vajpayee gets the Bharat Ratna or not, Advani has surely qualified for the Nishan-e-Pakistan, that country’s highest honour, by praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah and that too at his mausoleum. The RSS, which cleared Advani’s name for being the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, will second such a proposal. We can safely assume this because the Sangh parivar has endorsed Advani though he has not changed his stance on Jinnah. It will be a coincidence and a moment to cherish for the parivar if it’s ‘Vikas Purush’ gets the Bharat Ratna and its ‘Loh Purush’, the Nishan-e-Pakistan. After all, according to the Sangh’s ideology, we are one people and one nation. And, the end is, of course, ‘Akhand Bharat’. Some of the aides who helped in Advani’s image makeover – from a staunch Hindutva supporter to a moderate leader – can also be given some other award for trying to bring together the people of India and Pakistan. If one keeps the sarcasm out, Advani, by proposing Vajpayee’s name for the Bharat Ratna, has tried to strengthen the suspicion that [...]
