KC Venugopal Re-Appointed PAC Chairperson: Congress Veteran to Lead Parliament’s Oldest Watchdog Committee

36
384

New Delhi: In a move underscoring the Parliament’s commitment to fiscal accountability, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal has been re-appointed as Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), India’s oldest and most prestigious parliamentary committee. The new committee was constituted on May 1, 2024, for the first year of the 18th Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat confirmed the appointment and reiterated the importance of the PAC in ensuring transparent governance. The committee is tasked with scrutinising government spending, reviewing reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG), and examining expenditures of both autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.

“Since 1967, a convention has been followed wherein a prominent leader from the Opposition is appointed as PAC Chairperson,” the Secretariat noted.

Venugopal joins an elite list of former PAC chairpersons that includes Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, Murli Manohar Joshi, and R Venkataraman, all of whom played pivotal roles in ensuring fiscal scrutiny in their respective tenures.

The Secretariat added that the 2024–25 PAC term has already begun in earnest, delving into a wide array of performance appraisals of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and routine audit paragraphs from C&AG reports. This includes analyses of government spending across sectors like Defence, Civil Administration, Railways, Posts, and Taxation.

“The committee examines instances of financial irregularities, extravagance, delays, and losses, while also taking a deep look into India’s tax administration,” the Secretariat explained.

36 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here